Situational Hazard
by DetoxAngel
Summary: PLEASE READ CH.24 AGAIN, IT'S THE EPILOGUE, NOT AN AUTHOR'S NOTE! KakaNaru FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

Situational Hazard

Chapter One

Disclaimer: No I don't own Naruto. Because if I did, the episodes and mangas wouldn't take so long to come out. And the Shippuuden Movie would SO be out in the U.S!

Summary. Naruto's been evicted from his home. What's a teenaged fox-boy to do?

It wouldn't be the first time he had not been able to pay the rent. Only this time, the Old man Hokage wasn't there to barter with the nasty landlord that lived upstairs. Being that said landlord wasn't too fond of Godaime, he didn't bother giving the blonde boy time to run to the Hokage for help, and put his things out on the street for Naruto to discover the evening he came home.

"Aw, damnit! What am I gonna do now?!" Naruto threw his hands in the air in frustration, kicking at the small bag of things that the landlord didn't even have the decency to put on the curb.

He grumbled loudly and glared up at the window to find the sneering landlord peering down at him from his bedroom window, before disappearing momentarily to end up at the front door with his hand out.

"Give me my key, you little runt. I don't want to see you back here unless you have my money. And I'm talking about with interest!"

Naruto glared harder at the fat, balding, sneering bag of crap and threw the key at him, growling angrily when the bastard simply caught it and grinned even nastier.

"Hn, just for that, money or not, I better not ever see your ass around here again, or not even Godaime can save you. I hope you rot in the streets like you deserved from the day you were born. Good riddance, you little fucker!" And with that he turned and took his great big ass back into the shacky little apartment he was so proud of.

Naruto was angry, so angry his teeth bled from being grinded together so hard, but tears were filling his eyes as the realization of what happened slammed into him as the landlord slammed the door. He stood there shaking with rage, tears sliding down his face without his permission, hands clenched to his sides as he tried to think of what he should do.

As his disgustingly unfair luck would have it, Iruka had gone on a mission that he was expected to return from in two weeks time. Where was he going to go for two weeks? He had no friends to speak of and the only person considerate enough to let him hang around their place was Iruka. Unfortunately, he wasn't a child anymore and so pawning him off to the care of some unwilling ninja wasn't going to fare well for him this time around.

Sighing, he picked up what little he owned and trudged off down the street, not knowing or caring where he was going. Not like he was rich with options. He tried to stick as close to the shadows as possible and away from the evening sun setting, so nobody would see him and make his night that much more difficult to deal with. Right now, he really didn't need to hear what the villagers thought of him; it was just as well that they didn't know that they had something else to taunt him about.

He found himself in the forest. Ironically enough, it was the only place where the villagers' accusing eyes couldn't find him.

He dumped his things on the ground and slid down against a tree, sighing for what seemed to be the umpteenth time today. He knew he really should have saw it coming, but like with all things, Naruto never really concerned himself with anything that didn't have to do with being a ninja. As it was, he only spent a few hours sleeping at the run down dump he called home, and in the morning he was up and away on some mission until the next time he would go back for nourishment and rest.

He didn't make enough money as a Genin and having to make sure that he could afford the overpriced food, clothes and weaponry left nothing for him to pay his way-too-high rent with. He hadn't been worried about it then. But now he wished he had thought about it more. Granted, the outcome would be the same, but at the very least he could have avoided having his belongings tossed out into the streets like trash and the few houseplants he had from disappearing, probably destroyed.

He could stay in the woods until Iruka came back, or he could attempt to sneak back into his apartment and hope that the landlord wouldn't find him.

After a moment of thought, he decided that the latter would only result in his being thrown in jail and that was the last place he wanted to go.

The woods would have been nearly perfect, except for one major discrepancy. In the daytime, teams of Genin came to train for hours beginning at sunrise and if Naruto was going to live there, he would have to make himself scarce for hours and that meant finding another place to be altogether. Sure he had missions of his own, but his sensei had been known to have his lazy days and had given them breaks from training and missions enough times for Naruto to know that this plan in particular had a excellent chance of not working.

And to make matters worse, a loud rumbling from above told him that his already crappy evening was about to get even worse. Naruto refused to let out the depressed sob that threatened to burst out from the back of his throat. As if life wasn't horrible enough, something like this was about as bad as things could get for him. He had to spend a whole two weeks in the woods and he didn't have a single dollar to his name.

His weapons had cost him damn near a fortune as the village weapons vendor was feeling particularly vengeful today, and he had to swindle Pervy-Sage out of a few bowls of ramen before the toad Sage took off for some other country. And, it didn't help that he didn't have any missions the next day being that his Jounin sensei was feeling lazy and decided to give them a break.

'_At the worse possible time.' _Naruto thought bitterly.

The first drop hit him in the back of the neck, cold and surprising. As he tilted his head up, the sky began its downpour on his already tear-streaked face. His head hurt, and he was tired from all the crying he hadn't realized he was doing until he found it difficult to breathe though his nose.

Whimpering softly, he slid down until he was spread out on the grass, his head lolling to the side, and without making a plan for what he would do in the morning, he closed his eyes. Before he knew it he was asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Situational Hazard

CHAPTER TWO

Kakashi wanted to get home as fast as he could before it began to rain. From what he could tell there was going to be one hell of a storm hitting Konoha and he wouldn't wish anyone to be out and about when it happened. He hopped from tree to tree gracefully, realizing that he wasn't going to make it to his apartment before the rain started.

As he jumped over a large patch of clearing, he happened to look down and spot an orange figure down below. Instantly one person came to mind. Who else would wear such a loud color and be so easy to spot? He stopped and crouched down on a branch.

Naruto looked to be sleeping or something, probably the result of training too hard again. He sighed and was about to continue on his way when something else caught his attention. A bag. Not much bigger than what could fit in a bed sheet, Kakashi noted that he had not seen Naruto with it when he left after their mission today. His eye narrowed.

He silently leapt out of the tree and landed next to the sleeping boy. Even though his face was soaked with the already pouring rain, Kakashi could see the red rings around them that indicated that he had been crying. He watched his student for a while longer before he decided that he couldn't just leave him where he was. He picked up the small pathetic bag of belongings and bent down to shake Naruto awake. The boy didn't move. He tried again, and still Naruto's too-calm breathing did not change.

'_How long has he been out here?' _Kakashi wondered off-handedly.

Touching his hand to Naruto's cheek, he wasn't surprised to find it cold and firm with exposure to the low temperature rain.

Naruto had passed out.

Putting the bag on the blonde's stomach, he carefully scooped him up began his now delayed journey home. Now that he had another person with him, sprinting through the trees wasn't going to be an option, the added weight making it very possible for him to lose his grip if Naruto woke up too suddenly in an alarmed panic.

'_Oh well, I'm already wet.'_

--------------------

Naruto's eyes cracked open to unfamiliar surroundings and for a few seconds he instinctively froze all movement and shut his eyes to feel for any other presence that might have been silently waiting for him to come to so they could do something horrible to him.

Panic washed over him briefly when he realized that nearly every stitch his clothes were gone, but he stayed still until he was sure that wherever he was, he was alone for the moment. Opening his eyes he sat up slowly and looked around.

The room was simple and rather bare, simply furnished with an oak dresser and a lamp on the side of the bed. It was obvious he was in a bedroom. Wherever he was, it---

"I see you're awake." A voice said from out of nowhere.

Naruto's head snapped to the side and he blinked at the last person he expected to see.

Kakashi stood in the doorway with nothing on but a towel around his neck and some baggy pants and his ever-present mask, watching him with that bored gaze. He even still had his hitae-ate on to cover his left eye, despite being at home and having nothing more casual to wear.

"Oh….Kakashi-sensei….w-what am I doing here?" He looked around, further emphasizing his uncomfortable curiosity.

"Would you rather I take you back to where I found you?" Kakashi replied flatly, slipping a shirt over his head. Naruto blinked again at seeing his sensei so….at home.

"Well…why didn't you just leave me there?" He asked in a small voice.

Kakashi simply stared at him, turned, and pointed to the door. "We could go back."

Naruto swung his legs over the side of the bed and shivered as his feet touched the cold floor.

"But if you really believe you'd be better off sleeping in the woods than someplace warm and safe, then you can leave. I'm not keeping you here." He turned and walked over to another door, which Naruto had guessed to be the door to his bedroom that led out to the rest of the house, meaning that he had just come from the bathroom.

The blonde boy's eyes narrowed as he stared at the floor, feeling ashamed all of a sudden. He obviously hadn't thought things through in his distressed state so that nobody skipping through the trees would happen to find him out there. It was embarrassing enough to be suddenly homeless and now he was being taken pity on by his lazy perverted sensei that had never even taken so much as a second glance at him when they went on missions together. He barely knew Naruto existed as far as Naruto was concerned. What would make him consider taking a nobody like him into his home?

"Wow, I don't believe I wasn't invisible this time around, sensei. It's normally when I'm around the other two that you recognize that you have a _three_ man Genin team and that the third person must be somewhere among his two best students. It's actually surprising that you noticed me at all. I guess that ugly orange jumpsuit does come in handy sometimes after all." He mumbled to himself. He was so busy staring at the floor that he didn't notice that Kakashi was in the room again and watching him with a lazy brown eye.

"You're right, the color of your clothing is what made me initially spot you….. However, to think that that's the sole reason I recognized you, makes me think that you need someone to talk to. I guess you normally reserve this side of you for Iruka."

Naruto was startled but didn't show it. He should be used to the exceptional skills of his sensei by now and actually berated himself silently for not being aware of his presence in the first place. Or was that another one of those things that Sasuke and Sakura were better at than he was?

He got up, fully intent on leaving when he realized he was in nothing but his soaked underwear and that he had to get past Kakashi and find his clothes.

Seeing Naruto's apprehension, Kakashi quickly, but boredly explained, "I suppose you would rather I had left you in your freezing cold, soaking wet clothes and given you a reason to skip out on missions, but I took the liberty of making sure that you would be healthy for our next mission. Oh, and I didn't think you'd be very happy if I took everything off, so I left that little piece of dignity on you."

Naruto's head snapped up to glared heatedly at the silver-haired asshole. "You bastard! Nobody even told you to rescue me in the first place, I would have been just fine where I was if you didn't show up!"

"Right. For how long?"

Naruto grit his teeth and jumped out of the bed, stomping up to Kakashi, he held his hand out. "Give me my clothes, I'm out of here!"

Kakashi sighed wearily. "See now, if I gave them to you, you'd leave."

"That's the idea!"

"Iruka's gone. You obviously need a place to stay. I'm being nice. Why don't you just take it?"

Naruto crossed his arms indignantly. "Oh yeah, so you can patronize me whenever you feel like it? Yeah, tough toenails old man, I'm not letting you insult me just for a place to stay! Now give me my _clothes!_" He growled.

That damn bored ass look Kakashi had on his face was seriously ruffling the young Genin's feathers. He acted like they were in the field again, and he wasn't even paying attention to what Naruto had to say. Naruto hated his lack of expression, it made him feel like he wasn't being taken seriously.

"Your clothes are on my radiator in the kitchen. You could get them and get out, or you could shut up and eat the ramen I made for you on the kitchen table. Either way the decision is entirely up to you. I'd probably take the ramen." Kakashi leaned against the wall next to the door, put his hands in his pockets. If the little runt was going to be so bold as to take on the force of nature, he'd better eat something first.

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. Why would Kakashi make him anything to eat? What did he expect in return? Naruto had no money and certainly nothing of value on him.

"I don't have anything to give you, just so you know." He said warily, the hint of his statement was strong with meaning.

When had Kakashi taken out that book?

Without looking up, Kakashi replied in his frustratingly monotone voice, "If I wanted something from you, I would have just taken off your boxers."

Naruto nearly singed his sideburns with the fore of anger bursting out of his ears. "You pervert! I wouldn't let you touch me for a million bowls of ramen! I'm telling you right now, if you even so much as look at me the wrong way, I swear I'll---

"Look, you can stay here as long as you need to, but this little trip you're having isn't what I had in mind when I brought you here. I could have just took your limp body to the Hokage and left you there to end back up in the forest or worse. You should be lucky I choose to consider letting you stay at all." Kakashi hadn't raised his eyes from his book, almost as if he were partially detached from their conversation.

Naruto looked at him warily before edging around the Jounin and toward the kitchen. "I was just curious as to why you're acting like you give a shit about me now." He mumbled on his way out.

Kakashi hadn't heard him, too absorbed in his book to care what the boy did after he left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Situational Hazard

CHAPTER 3

He had to admit, the ramen was good and the place was warm and he really had no complaints at all. Kakashi had all but married his little book on the floor of the den and left Naruto to his own devices. After his meal, Naruto sat in the chair and wondered what he could find to do. Kakashi was too into his book to provide any form of entertainment and from the looks of it, his surroundings were even more boring.

He briefly wondered if he was going to sleep in the bed he woke up in and where Kakashi himself would sleep. As curious as he was to know, he didn't want to bother Kakashi with his questions and so he decided that he would just sit there and think.

"I've left some things in the bathroom so you can take a shower." Naruto nearly fell out of his seat.

'_How does he keep doing that?!'_

"Kami, sensei, are you trying to kill me?! You creep me out with that!" Kakashi merely stared at him thought his one visible eye as if he was the most uninteresting thing in the world.

"Ah….thank you." Naruto slid out of the chair and calmly scraped past his teacher, whose eye followed him until he disappeared into the bedroom. Naruto slumped against the door. Why was his sensei such a creepy-ass?

Kakashi watched the boy amusedly try to blend into the wall just to get past him. Was he really that uncomfortable? Well, Kakashi mused, he supposed he wasn't used to sharing his living space with anyone, much less someone he barely knew. But it did make him feel a bit offended to know that his student thought of him as some sort of child molester or something. Naruto was an attractive boy, but he wasn't anyone Kakashi would waste his precious time hitting on. Deciding that he was finished with his Icha Icha for the day, he decided that he would spend the rest of the night making the blonde kid squirm in discomfort.

Naruto washed up hastily, hoping to get cleaned and out before his sensei got any ideas. He was alert to the point of paranoia and every little sound would startled the shit out him, even if the noises were made by him, he couldn't help but feel wary of the unpredictable Jounin. Not that a guy like him would make a pass at Naruto.

What do you mean,' a guy like him'? There's nothing about him that makes him all that different from every other ninja older than 20. He's just a little bit weirder than most Shinobi.'

Naruto took his time getting out of the shower and picked up the fluffy dark blue towel off the steel rack. He resisted the sudden urge to smell it first that assailed him. His natural animalistic urge to distinguish scent almost made him embarrass himself, even though nobody else was watching. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he cautiously opened the door to peek outside and promptly choked. Kakashi was sitting on the bed. He almost slammed the door in shock. He managed to choke on the sharp intake of breath from seeing the strange man out there, sitting on the bed waiting for him. Naruto felt a shudder of fear lace up his bare spine and pressed his palms flat against the door, breathing almost silently, for fear that his sensei had seen him open the door and might have been coming to investigate.

'What the heck is he doing out there?! Man….he's creeping me out….'

Kakashi sat on his bed with his arms crossed, staring expectantly at the door and waiting for Naruto to come out. He really just wanted to freak the kid out because now that he had the boy in his apartment, he was going to have some fun messing with his head. He saw the door open and a blue eye peek through the crack. The instant that eye settled on him waiting for him he practically slammed the door shut. The Jounin chuckled at that, obviously finding it far more amusing than his frightened houseguest. However, he supposed that Naruto just might spend the night in there and so he got up and silently made his way to the door.

The knock right next to his ear scared the holy crap out of Naruto. He let out a loud 'gah' and jumped away from the door. His sensei was coming for him.

'No!' Naruto thought franticly. There was another knock and a voice followed.

"You know, you can't stay in there forever. Why don't you just come out of there?"

Kakashi may not have been able to torment the child from the comfort of his bed, but he was fairly satisfied with the reaction he was getting from behind the door. He could hear Naruto's breath hitch fearfully and just about feel his entire little body tense. Naruto didn't make a move to open the door or even to answer him and Kakashi figured he had thoroughly scared the kid enough for one day. He stepped away from the door.

"Alright. I'll stop. But it was funny."

The door flew open. Naruto's face was red with rage.

"Funny?! You had me in there just about pissing myself and you though it was funny?!" He screamed incredulously. All of a sudden he had his little fist imbedded in Kakashi's abdomen and the silver-haired man grunted at the sudden pain, doubling over and holding his stomach.

"That's what you get you perverted ass! That's what you get for being so damn creepy!" He snapped, running past Kakashi and quickly jumping into the bed. He was already pushing things by staying at the pervert's house, and now he had to pay for it with the little bit of dignity he had left. For certain, he would be out of there by the time the rain stopped or at least as soon as he woke up.

Kakashi stood straight up and before Naruto could warn him of what would happen if he got any closer, he was in front of the bed with his hands on his hips giving Naruto a big smile with his eye and leaning down. "You really are just like Iruka." He said happily.

Naruto glared at him, while he pulled the blankets up from the end of the bed and shifted in the wet spot that had been made by him earlier. He wasn't even sure if he could sleep with the older man lurking around the way he always was.

"You stay away from me. I appreciate it a lot that you're letting me stay here, but…" He didn't know what else to say. He knew that any threats he made were frustratingly empty. If Kakashi wanted to do something to him, he would be powerless to stop him, especially if Kyuubi felt like punishing him. He was just a Genin, and on top of that, he was a deadlast, so he didn't have any ideas about how to get out of situations with people stronger than he was. He didn't see his weapons pouch anywhere, so he was defenseless as far as that went. After all, it wouldn't be the first time something of that nature had happened to him. The villagers had very nasty ideas of how to make his life miserable, inappropriate touching and all.

"I'm only teasing, I won't assault you or anything like that. Normally, I mess around with Iruka this way because his temper is amusing. Since you're here, I just wanted to play with your head a bit. I won't do it anymore, I guess I've abused my boundaries." He stood up, still smiling (with his eye of course) and padded out of the room, stopping when Naruto called out to him.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Naruto was curious about that since he finished his dinner. He hadn't seen a couch or anything like that out in the den, but then again, he had only seen the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

"Don't worry about that, I'll be fine. Just rest and we'll start planning any possible places for you to go tomorrow."

Naruto watched him close the door and felt a sigh of relief escape him. He supposed that if he had to sleep naked, at the very least he was going to lock that door. Clutching the towel around his skinny hips, he hopped off the bed, locked the door and jumped back in as fast as he could. He would allow Kakashi to keep his clothes out there, but that didn't mean he was going to trust him.


	4. Chapter 4

Situational Hazard

CHAPTER FOUR

Kakashi sighed. He should have known Naruto would lock the door. But, since it was his house, and Naruto seemed to be forgetting that he was a ninja, a Jounin at that, he easily reached up and pulled out a hairpin from his silver mane. It was easy to pick the lock.

He walked in, fully dressed in his gear and ready to leave. He would wake Naruto and make him get dressed so that they could find someone better suited to watch the boy. Obviously, Naruto didn't trust him worth a damn, not that it wasn't particularly his fault.

Naruto was sprawled out wildly on the bed, his legs spread haphazardly and one of his arms hanging off the edge while the other was draped across his drooling face. Kakashi frowned. The brat was practically desecrating his pillow with his disgusting drool.

"Wake up Naruto. It's time to go do what I said we were going to do."

Naruto's eyes slowly slid open and he sat up, rubbing them wearily. Who could have been waking him up today? He knew he had no missions becau----

"Ah! You!" He quickly yanked the covers over his half exposed form and pushed himself up against the wall.

Kakashi sighed again. "Get dressed." He tossed Naruto's clothes in the blonde's face and briskly exited the room.

Naruto blinked. Well….that was rather sudden…. and rude. Naruto crept out of bed and to the bathroom. The room was still a bit dark, as if the sun hadn't even risen yet. Naruto peered out the window to see that it was still raining, just not as heavily as before. It looked like the storm had only let up enough for people to go outside, and he was as ready as he was ever going to be to find someplace else to go, though he highly doubted anyone would have taken him in. It was worth a try. So he quickly got dressed and grabbed his small bag of belongings and ran into the den to see Kakashi standing there waiting for him. The second he saw him he felt guilty.

Kakashi was holding the doorknob in one hang while the other was stuffed into his pocket and his head was bent toward the floor with his eye closed. He opened it when he felt Naruto's presence.

"I have an umbrella we can share, that is, if you aren't worried about me molesting you in the rain." Naruto blushed fiercely and tried to hide his face in his high collar jumpsuit sweatshirt. Kakashi eyed him plainly before picking up the umbrella behind the door and walking outside. Naruto hurried after him and stood next to his sensei under the umbrella.

It was the first time he had ever been so close to the man, even with the weird behavior from yesterday, Kakashi had never really come this close. Their arms were brushing with every step and Naruto could feel the heat searing up his neck, despite the cold October wind that swept the village.

"I'll tell you now. I don't think we're going to find anyone to take you in, but I'm doing this to ensure that if there is a person that will allow you to stay with them, that you won't be as uncomfortable around them as you are around me. You know, even though you are supposed to trust me with your life."

Naruto looked up at him with his expressive blue orbs and blushed even more. "It wasn't like you weren't enjoying my discomfort."

"Yes. I was having some fun at your expense, but I guess it would be wrong to blame you. Either way, I guess the first step will be finding another place for you to stay. The second will be to get you better missions to help you get back on your feet. I've been careless in giving you too many breaks, but the Hokage doesn't allow more than a certain amount of missions per month. Genin are allowed a certain stipend a month, and unfortunately, there haven't really been any missions lately that are on the Genin level. I wish I could tell you that you'd be back on your feet in no time, but I then again I don't."

Kakashi stared straight ahead, effectively looking for all to see like he was walking alone. Naruto couldn't blame him. If Kakashi made it look like he were walking down the street with the demon brat in anything that even remotely looked like something he thought was worth doing, then Naruto himself would never hear the end of it. The villagers had a way of going on and on about the little bit of people that pitied him enough to act like they were his friends, his sensei included. Fortunately for Naruto, he had learned not to care. After much ridicule and hate-filled glares that usually were reserved to make him uncomfortable, Naruto could compare his team's behavior to be something of a vacation, even if it did involve work.

Kakashi, who had never even so much as smiled at him, was the only exception he had ever found to the norm of his abusive life. Kakashi played with him, he even had a laugh at his distressful expense, and that was more expression than Naruto had ever seen on the silver haired perv. For a pervert, Kakashi was unusually quiet and dull, not at all the kind of person he'd figure to enjoy messing with people's heads. He was lazy, pushy in a silent I'm –watching you-so you better-get-to-work way, and he was weird.

And that mask…

If that didn't freak Naruto out, he didn't know what else about the man did.

The mask was the icing on the mystery cake. One never knew what he was thinking, or if he even thought much at all. The only expressions he had even seen his teacher make were surprise and a smile. Or at least, that's what his eye had intended for it too look like he was doing. Having been acquainted with the guy for little over a year, he paid as much attention to Kakashi as Kakashi had ever paid to him.

Of course, Kakashi's eye was the most expressive thing about him, and that really wasn't saying much when he looked at people like they were simple houseplants most of the time. Naruto vaguely wondered if Kakashi actually smiled under that mask. Probably not. But….he had smiled at Naruto once yesterday and Naruto hadn't even bothered to see what he looked like up close.

From where he was walking next to Kakashi, he couldn't get a single glimpse of Kakashi's face (or eye) because as it was he was walking on his left side.

Not that Naruto would have looked. And certainly not that Kakashi couldn't tell if he was, without even letting on that he could.

Kakashi could feel the boy's eyes glance up at him every other minute and while he wouldn't show it, it was getting quite annoying. It wasn't as if he had anything out of the ordinary on his face. Or was he trying to figure out what was underneath his mask? Well, it wouldn't be the first time. He distantly wondered how much longer Naruto would keep looking at him before they reached the Hokage tower in the middle of the village. Wearing a mask all of his life since he was five years old, he was used to the unnecessary curiosity that anyone within a 2 mile radius of him exuded. Everyone had some stupid desire or another to get a look at what was under his mask, when really, he wasn't hiding anything interesting at all.

He had a face. Some people thought that he didn't, but he did. Sure, he would never prove it to them, and they could never prove that he didn't, he would simply attempt to wait out the _generations _of curiosity. Even Yondaime had ventured to ask what it was that his little Chuunin student hid under that piece of cloth on his face. Needless to say, he was just in the beginning stages of his' mask-wearing' and showed the future Hokage. All Yondaime said was, "Huh." Like he had been expecting much more and had gotten a lot less. Or at least, that's what Kakashi took the sound to mean.

"Uhh….Kakashi-sensei?" The unsure voice of Naruto reached his ears and without looking down he responded, "Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto's hands wiggled around in his pockets nervously as he tried to remember what it was that he had wanted to say. The moment Kakashi responded, he had forgotten and now he felt like an idiot all over again. He didn't want to look retarded just walking and looking like he was lost, so he quickly came up with the only thing he could think of.

"Why are you so creepy?"

Kakashi chuckled for the second time Naruto had ever heard.

"Am I creepy, or are you just paranoid?"

Naruto's brow creased in thought. Of course, he had a point. Naruto had been thinking along the more directly paranoid lines of thought and it could have been just that he didn't understand the older man that he came to the conclusion that he was creepy. Or, he really was just creepy.

Naruto wasn't sure which one it was, but it sure made him feel uncomfortable and damned if his jumpsuit sweater wasn't itchy at the moment, making him want to scratch his arm anxiously. But he refrained, and decided that it would be best to not make eye contact with _that _particular villager again.

Ignoring the odd looks and harsher than usual insults about someone being dumb enough to go near him, he almost sighed with relief when they reached the tower. All of a sudden, Naruto felt like a little child again. Up until the time he was 10, people had been dragging him to and from the Hokage's tower, all for the same reason. Either they wanted him out of their home, or they wanted to know why he was even in their home to begin with.

Naruto had been through situations in which a mean drunk ninja had taken him home per the Hokage's orders, as if that wasn't unsettling in itself, and the wife of the ninja had walked into the house demanding to know why there was a demon in her den. He had been forcefully, ruthlessly, carelessly dragged out of the home and back to the tower, and it had been the same thing for years until he finally made Genin and was offered by Sandaime himself the only place on the market that would let him hang around. Granted, the apartment he used to live in wasn't anyone's idea of happy home, but it was a place for Naruto to sleep at night somewhat peacefully without people arguing about how much they didn't want him around.

He must not have been listening because before he knew it, the Hokage was waving her hand in front of his face and he was lost to her attempts to call him back to reality.

"Naruto!" He looked up, eerily calm for someone who had just been snapped out of a reverie.

"Are you back with us? I know you're depressed about losing your home."

"Losing my home?" He almost forgot about that.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi as if the Jounin's student had gone a little crazy.

"Yes. Anyway, you know that even though I'm the Hokage, the villagers all have certain rights. It's not like it was when Sarutobi was around. I can't get your old place back, but if you'd like I can try and find out if anyone one else is willing to put you up for a few weeks. I'd have to pay them of course…."

"Willing? Pay them? Godaime, don't you think that's a bit sad? I mean, I'm 15, most kids already have their lives planned out and are on their way to being Chuunin and me….I haven't done anything. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where I'm going, and now I'm a teenager, and I still have trouble finding a place to live. I'm grown, nobody is going to want to take care of me. Me of all people. Do you know what some people would expect from you for that?"

"Naruto, I may not be as influential as Sandaime was, but I---

"I find it hard to believe," Naruto continued on as if Godaime's words were nothing but a gust of wind. "that I'm the most useless, irresponsible ninja in town and yet I'm still too dangerous for anyone to consider housing me without being ordered to by the Hokage. You know, it's the reason why I want to become the Hokage."

Tsunade frowned and sat back in her chair. While this wasn't the young passionate child she had met a few months back, she was indeed sighing in relief on the inside that Naruto was finally letting some of his frustrations out. It was about time. If the kid kept anymore of his emotions bottled up inside longer than necessary, the results had the potential to be disastrous. It was obvious he had nobody to talk to it about, and if Iruka Umino was any person to judge, she'd say that the Chuunin had not gotten the chance to hear what his ex-student truly felt on the inside. Then again, if he were there….

"I want to be able to be the kind of Hokage who doesn't sit for those kinds of things. You're a good person, Lady Tsunade, but I should really be trying to help myself. Kakashi sensei put up with me for a whole night, that's more than anyone I know besides Iruka sensei is willing to do for me. I've been thinking, and maybe it would be a good idea if I left the village until---

"No."

"---until I made enough money to afford the rent around here. Still, nothing can stop the landlords from raising it when they're having a shit month and the Kyuubi kid is living two floors away. That's more money than I'd even care to give away."

Kakashi watched his student carefully, seeing his body tense with barely restrained emotion. It looked like Naruto wanted to cry. Not that he would. If he did, he just wouldn't be Naruto. He had much more to cry about, and yet to experience it. Kakashi had gone to the Hokage knowing full well that whatever happened wasn't going to turn out well for the young Genin, but he hadn't taken anything for granted since the regretful decisions of his past. Tsunade had only been the Hokage for little over 2 years now and all she had to offer was her remorse. Just because she was the Hokage, didn't mean she could do anything. Unfortunately, the higher ups were on the side of the villagers, as much as they claimed that this fact was untrue, they did not wish to aid Naruto in any way that would result in his success as a Konoha citizen, or shinobi. And he himself, could do nothing.

Well…..

"Naruto, it was worth a try. The most conducive thing to do is to allow you to come back and live with me. You don't much of a choice, unless you'd rather leave the village. But you know if you do that, then you can just kiss that dream of becoming the Hokage goodbye."

Naruto's bewildered eyes shot up to his in surprise. His teacher…was offering _him _a place to stay!

"Huh?" He asked eloquently. It was all so sudden. In his depression-induced thoughts, he had never even considered the possibility that Kakashi would let him go back with him. Not in a million years.

"Thank you Lady Hokage, but I think I'll be taking him with me. You don't have to pay me anything. I thought I should let you know. If it's possible, if you have any side jobs that he can do, please let us know. He will need money for himself, because I'm not his guardian."

Naruto smiled sadly. Just yesterday he had been accusing the man of trying to do something to him, and now he was feeling almost eternally grateful for his offer to let him stay at Kakashi's apartment. Before he could stop himself, he stepped in front of his sensei and threw his arms around the unsuspecting man.

Kakashi wasn't surprised that Naruto would hug him. He was an eccentric kid that way. Kakashi's arms hung limply by his sides as he made no move to hug the boy back. He fixed his bored gaze into the beautiful Hokage's big, hazel eyes and nodded. She gave a firm nod and went back to sit at her seat, spinning her chair around to the wide window behind her, dismissing them silently.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei! I promise won't get in your way. You won't even know I'm around!" Naruto said ecstatically when they got outside. Kakashi said nothing, and pulled out his little blue book to ignore the blonde's profuse and loud exclamations of gratitude.

TBC…

Alright time for a break! Although the story is finished already, so you won't have to wait for an update, I want to see if anyone is interested enough to tell me what they think of this story so far. I can't technically finish it here, but I can give you guys an alternated ending, so I hope you enjoy it when it comes. I haven't edited or checked for spelling errors, of which I am sure there are many, but it's too troublesome to deal with right now, maybe I do it later. Please, read and review!

Ja'ne.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, which I don't, this story would be real.

Yay, CHAPTER FIVE is here!

Thanks to all that have reviewed the story so far, I would like to get more of your feedback in the following chapters.

Please read Author's Note at the end of the chapter, it entails important things about this story. Thanks!

* * *

When Naruto said that Kakashi wouldn't even know he was around, Kakashi's last thought on that was that the blonde couldn't make himself scarce even if he wanted to. The last thing he expected was for Naruto to not utter a single word for four days. 

"What's wrong with you?" He asked on the fifth day, out of sheer curiosity. In the normal scheme of things, nothing ever really made him curious, but Naruto's long stretch of silence had not only made him curious, it made him worry for the blonde.

Naruto looked up at him blandly. He wasn't sure what his sensei could have meant by such a question. Did he look like something as wrong with him?

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine, why would you ask me something like that?"

Kakashi's eye narrowed a bit more, making it look as if he were bored or concerned, Naruto didn't know which.

"You haven't said anything for the past 4 days. I would have thought that even you would ha----

"But I told you. The idea was for you not to know that I was here. I'm making it easier for you to deal with me being around. Since you were nice enough to let me stay, I figured I would do you a favor and not bug you with my presence. I'm aware that I'm annoying to most people. But I'm not living with most people, I'm living with you, sensei. I don't have to be heard, and I'm not looking for any kind of attention. So if you see me, it's enough to know that I'm around. _You _don't have to hear me. Is it a problem?" Naruto explained in a calm, pleasant voice.

Kakashi found this rather odd. No, extremely odd. Naruto was aware that he was annoying? Kakashi certainly couldn't tell, and he had to accredit himself to the fact that he was quite perceptive, if nothing else. And what was this about 'making it easier for Kakashi to deal with him being around'? Was that a note of bitter self-loathing in his voice? This new Naruto was actually beginning to make him uncomfortable.

"No. I just thought that Konoha's Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja would be a more interesting houseguest." He didn't say anything more than that. He didn't need to. After all, he didn't _care _about Naruto's feelings, he was only curious. Now that he had a somewhat plausible answer, it didn't really matter why Naruto was acting the way he was.

"Oh don't worry, you'll see more of him when we go on missions. But I don't want to be so annoying that you don't want me around. I guess you live alone for a reason. You're a pretty mysterious guy so being alone suits you. I can tell you've never shared your personal space with another person before, and I don't want to make you regret your decision to let me stay."

Well that was an interesting answer. Kakashi wouldn't have taken Naruto to be the kind of person who knew his faults, but then he _was _growing up in very interesting ways.

"Hn." He stared inquisitively at Naruto a little longer before reaching down into his pocket and tossing something at the boy, who caught it and looked at whatever it was curiously.

"I'll be gone a while on a mission. Don't let anyone in and if you do, I will find out about it. You may come and go as you please, when you please. I'm not your guardian, so I don't care what you do in your spare time. Don't mess up the apartment, clean up after yourself, and don't touch any of my stuff. If you have any objections to my rules, then feel free to leave, or whatever."

Naruto put the key down on the nightstand and thoughtfully watched Kakashi watch him.

Kakashi was nice without -_being nice- _and Naruto found that he liked it that way. Kakashi wasn't the type of guy who anyone could call _nice _but he wasn't mean, or heartless at all. He supposed he would have to get used to seeing his sensei around a lot more than usual. Of course, he would refrain from telling Sakura and Sasuke. Especially Sakura. Iruka would find out, and probably not like the idea very much, but would probably not mind otherwise. Iruka wasn't too fond of the Jounin, since the Chuunin Exams, he had expressly shown his dislike for Naruto's current sensei, and quite loudly some would say.

If he was going to be living with the famous copy-cat ninja, Sharingan Hatake Kakashi, he was definitely going to have to change a few of his habits and priorities. Starting with his attitude.

Living with a person like Kakashi was in itself, awkward and uncomfortable, but Naruto found that if he gave the man less reason to look at him or talk to him, that he would get through their time together enough to feel normal sharing the same living space. Naruto himself was not used to sharing a place with anyone who didn't hate him, so this was new for him, not something he would have subjected himself to otherwise, but definitely something he would have to get used to.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei. Uh…." He still didn't know how to talk around the lazy, silent, _mysterious _man standing in front of him. Kakashi wasn't an easy man to talk to. Despite what the first day had been like, the following time with his sensei had actually proved to be surprisingly uncomfortable and awkward. Most of the time, if he wound up in the kitchen or someplace at the same moment with him, Naruto would instantly tense up with fear; not at being hit on, or something stupid like that, but at the fact that he didn't know Kakashi well enough to get used to the idea of being domestically civil with him.

Right now, his nerves were buzzing with anxiousness, and his mind was almost shorting itself out trying to find something to say.

"Being so formal and nervous isn't going to help in getting used to living with me. You would fare better if you just acted like yourself a little bit more. Anyway, I'll be back whenever. Don't burn my apartment down." With that, Kakashi left.

Naruto stared at the door longer after he had gone. For four days he had been inching around, trying with much difficulty to make himself practically invisible for two reasons. The first was that he didn't want a repeat of the first day and the second being that he really wasn't sure about letting his guard down around a man like Kakashi. He didn't know _how _to let his guard down. Aside from being undeniably uncomfortable, he was afraid of what Kakashi would think of him and his behavior. Up until six days ago, he had been living all by himself and without anyone there to supervise the way he took care of things, he had pretty much lived by his own standards. But now that he was living with someone else, and not just _anyone _elseKakashi Hatake, he wasn't sure how he should act or what he could do to make his unfortunate presence any easier to bear for the older man.

He had duly noted that Kakashi was never really around his own home very often, and when he was, he never let it show that he had missed it. Naruto figured that even with him being there, Kakashi wasn't likely to look forward to seeing him and that was what made Naruto feel that it was for the best to keep things that way. If he never looked forward to Kakashi looking forward to seeing him, then he wouldn't be hurt to find that he wasn't. Being the most hated person in the village, he didn't know what it felt like to be wanted, not even by Iruka, who was a dear friend to him, but never made him feel wanted. Iruka didn't make him feel special, or loved, or important, he only made him feel cared about and to Naruto, that was the best feeling he had ever had.

Kakashi however, was a whole different story. Kakashi had never even made him so much as feel appreciated, despite the countless times he had tried to make his sensei proud on the battlefield. Kakashi was more susceptible to the achievements of his other team members. Sakura Haruno because she was smart, and Sasuke Uchiha because he was a fighting genius, very much like Kakashi himself. But not Naruto, because Naruto was neither. He wasn't smart, and he wasn't a genius. Not yet at least. There was nothing about himself that he could say was admirable or even remotely worth praise, but he had tried to get people to notice him, and only that year had he noticed that he had been taking the wrong approach. Nobody was going to look at him as being anything other than a demon or a loudmouth idiot, and if he continued to let people see him as the latter, than he would never overcome people seeing him as the former, and in the end he would never be Hokage.

Kakashi was a good reason to change. Even though his sensei had told him that acting a bit more like himself would make things easier for him, he knew Kakashi only said it because he didn't like the awkward change in Naruto. He obviously wasn't used to it. Naruto knew himself better than anyone else and it was about time that he started to grow up. The whole experience of being kicked out of his home up until now had taught him that being childish forever wasn't going to get him anywhere. As it was, he was more immature than most of the ninja his age in his attempt to get people to notice him as anything other than Kyuubi. It was time for a change.

For starters, talking less seemed to be something a lot of people would appreciate from him. Kakashi would just have to get used to it. And maybe training more would help him grow.

A thought suddenly dawned on him. He was living with Sharingan Kakashi, one of the most famous ninja alive. Would Kakashi train him? He wasn't sure he should ask, already knowing the answer, but he really wanted a chance to prove to his new housemate that he was good enough to be acknowledged and if Kakashi would train him, he'd be well on his way to becoming a great ninja, someone people looked up to and not down at. Someone worthy of being happy to live with.

Well, that was a good start for his plan. All he had to do was find out if Kakashi would be willing to give him a little extra training. If not….

Naruto didn't know what he would do then, but he would have to formulate another plan, one that was guaranteed to work. For the rest of the time he would be staying with the older Jounin, he would spend his time trying to change Kakashi's opinion of him into something worth being proud of or at the very least someone worth liking. He would maintain his quietness, and only speak when he had to. And he should probably travel to the library and study up on his jutsu and other things a great ninja was supposed to know. Maybe then, someone would be proud of him.

* * *

Kakashi came back from his mission four days later, dragging himself into his apartment with what little strength he had left. His Jounin vest was caked with dry blood and dirt and other unidentifiable substances and his clothing was torn in various places to show the scars he had gotten to add to his collection of battle wounds on this chest and arms. But, he had made it home. Luckily for him, Iruka was not on mission duty that night, because he was too weak to stop by the mission office to give in his mission report. If it wasn't Iruka, he just didn't care.

The apartment was dark by the time he had stumbled in, which probably meant that his new housemate was asleep. Not caring how loud he was being, he shuffled over to a chair in the dark kitchen and sat down heavily on it with a long sigh of relief.

He was sweaty, dirty, and hungry, but most of all what he needed right then was a rest. He had walked home due to the fact that some of his wounds made it impossible for him to travel by tree or rooftop. It was a far ways, and Kakashi almost collapsed with exhaustion a few times on the way, but he persevered and finally got himself to his apartment, which he was very relieved to see was not burned to the ground.

He closed his eye and leaned back in the chair tiredly, wishing that he could just fall asleep right there. Alas, he still had to take a shower and crawl into his makeshift bedroom. Sleeping in the chair would only give him back problems he may sorely regret the next morning. He didn't know what time it was but he was used to coming home at all hours in the night.

Naruto stood in the doorway, staring at his sensei as he sat down with a long sigh of relief. He had heard the moment Kakashi opened the door and snapped out of his musings to see what the noise was. He hadn't been sleeping, as he was too busy thinking about the way his life was turning out and his future, so he had been very alert when he heard the sound of the front door opening. By that time, he'd already picked up a kunai and had his left hand filled with shuriken before the 'intruder' could even step inside.

But it was just Kakashi.

He was beginning to wonder when Kakashi was going to come back. Not that he was worried.

He stared, eyes narrowing at the condition his sensei was in and stood there until he realized that Kakashi didn't know he was behind him. The boy smiled. Was Kakashi so out of it and so tired that his senses were this dulled?

Still, he didn't say anything, but he retreated farther into the shadows, watching as Kakashi stood up on shaky legs and slowly walked over to a drawer, opening it and pulling out a First-Aid Kit.

Kakashi sat back down and began ruffling through the box, pulling out gauze, ointment, and bandages to treat his wounds. Even in the dark, he knew what he was doing. Naruto felt a spark of pity go through him. Kakashi must have been used to having to treat his own wounds, so long as they weren't deadly.

Like himself. Naruto never had anyone to cared about whether he was hurt enough to bandage his wounds, unless they were paid by the Hokage to do it. He silently observed the way Kakashi hissed in pain whenever he raised his left arm to wrap the gauze around his right hand. He couldn't help himself.

"Would you like some help with that?" Kakashi's head jerked up and he winced painfully. He was actually surprised to see that Naruto was awake and _there. _He hadn't even sensed him. He really had to be more careful next time. Next time it might not be Naruto.

Naruto was leaning against the doorframe calmly with his arms crossed, looking like he had been standing there for a while.

"No. I'll be fine."

"You say that, but your arm is speaking a different tune I'm sure. I may not be a medical ninja, but I know a thing or two about taking care of wounds." He knew Kakashi probably would have declined again, but it was better than watching him struggle to tend to himself.

Kakashi sighed in defeat. The boy had a point. Why hurt himself when someone was there to do it for him? He said nothing, but knew that Naruto got the hint.

Naruto moved over to him slowly, but his eye followed the boy's every move, wondering if his senses where dull enough for this to not be who he thought it was. Naruto looked different. Serious. Like Neji Hyuuga. Too serious for it to be him. But not too out of the ordinary for it not to be.

Naruto looked mature. Like _**him**_

The blonde pulled a seat in front of him and sat down in the dark as he reached up with a shaky hand to unzip his vest.

He watched silently as Naruto picked up the ointment and spread some across his fingers. While tending to his many cuts, bruises and lacerations, the kid had never once looked up at him. He worked wordlessly, stopping every once in a while to cut a strip of bandage for his arm.

Kakashi wondered what it was that he was sensing from his student that he had never sensed before. Aside from the very obvious discomfort and anxiousness the boy was trying to hide. The air of maturity was obvious, but there was something else that had gotten his attention other than that significant change. He wasn't sure if whatever he felt was a good thing or not, but he wasn't going to waste his time thinking about it.

When Naruto was finished, he simply stood up and walked out of the room without a word. Kakashi realized that he had left without helping him with the wounds on his chest. He chuckled silently to himself. He couldn't see Naruto's face in the dark, but he was sure Naruto was thankful for that far more than he was. Still paranoid.

Naruto got to his room and carefully sat on his bed. He released the breath he had been holding on and off for a while and groaned.

If that wasn't the most awkward thing he had ever done.

Touching Kakashi was weird, new, and definitely uncomfortable. But he couldn't just watch his sensei endure more pain than he had trying to make sure he wasn't in pain, if that made any sense.

He had felt Kakashi watching him, and he almost regretted his offer to help. The way the gaze was affecting him had made him confused. Kakashi had never really _looked _at him that way before, like he was going to do something bad to hurt him. Like he didn't trust him. But it was too late to back out then.

Only when he realized that Kakashi's arm and hand were the least of his worries did he get up and make a hasty retreat back to his bedroom. Now he had plenty of hours to spend awake figuring out why. He had seen Kakashi shirtless once, but had fallen over from shock and heat exhaustion moments after when he and Sasuke were trying to see what was under Kakashi's mask. Of course, they failed. So he never actually got a good look at it NOT that he wanted to. Ever. So he took off, trying to make it seem as if he thought he was done, but obviously Kakashi noticed.

Kakashi noticed just about everything.

And that was frustrating.

He wasn't sure though, if Kakashi would have even let him go that far, NOT that he wanted to do that either, and so maybe leaving had been for the best. Not that anything strange would have happened if he hadn't.

Not at all.

Kakashi still hadn't moved from his spot in the kitchen. He was panting harshly from the immense amount of pain and energy it to take off his vest and lift his torn shirt over his head. His scars burned in protest but he managed to get the task done. He was going to have a hell of a time doing his chest, but he was used to doing things on his own.

When he was finished, he wasn't sure he had the strength to move from the chair. Before he knew it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep right there in the kitchen. It wouldn't be the first time he had done that.

TBC….

Tada! There you have it, chapter five, and now you guys have 5 more chapters to go. However, the following chapters are far longer than the previous, so that is why I split it so short. It isn't meant to be too insightful a fic, and I don't go into a heck of a lot of depth, but I know what I'm doing trust me. Please, review and tell me what you think. Any questions, please take a look at my new user profile. It explains things about me and my writing style. I will finish this fic up to the tenth chapter, where it also serves as an end so there is no cliffhanger. But it does continue on after that, but I haven't begun writing that part yet. I don't know where I'll be posting the full version, but when I do, I'll let ONLY my reviewers know. If they feel like sharing, whatever. I will more than likely have it on a member protected LJ, so that only the people I want to read it will read it. It might be private, I haven't really decided yet.

Ja'ne.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Naruto was rather surprised to see Kakashi sitting still at the table, shirtless and sleeping. He slowly, carefully, and quietly approached the slumbering Jounin, but stood a few feet away just in case. He had never watched Kakashi sleep before, and certainly not with his guard down.

If Naruto felt inclined, he could have slit his throat at that moment.

Of course, he didn't, so he settled on watching him for a while, wondering when he was going to notice that he wasn't alone and wake up. His blue eyes scanned over Kakashi's sleeping form. Pale, smooth skin, littered with long deep scars, some healed, others fresh. Bandages and gauze all over his chest and a particularly big gauze patch over his stomach, where obviously he had been pierced by something sharp. Naruto's scarred cheeks suddenly felt quite warm. Was checking his sensei out while he was sleeping?!

Naruto growled at himself in denial, and who would have thought that this was what would wake Kakashi up. Unfortunately, Naruto took that time to blink and before he could think of anything else, Kakashi was behind him with a kunai pressed against his neck.

"Relax Kakashi-sensei, it's me."

Kakashi didn't remove the kunai.

"I wasn't doing anything, I just didn't expect to walk in to see you sleeping in here. I apologize if I scared you."

Kakash lowered his arm and sighed raggedly.

"I'm not used to people being so close to me when I wake up unless I expect it. I'm the one who's sorry. I could have killed you, but luckily for you I have more control than that. I sensed you this time. You've been standing in front of me for a while now. What were you doing?"

Naruto knew he was blushing again. What was he supposed to say, "Oh nothing, I was just watching you sleep"?

"Nothing. Like I said, I was surprised to see you sleeping in here, not that you can't. Actually, I was waiting to see how long it would be before you reacted. Yesterday you didn't seem to have all of your senses working too well, so I thought that I'd see if something else was wrong with you."

"That little sound you made, was a growl. What was that?" Kakashi asked with a hint of suspicion.

'_Shit' _Naruto hissed to himself. Had his teacher heard that? What was he going to say? He knew it was a bit odd for anyone to wake up to that sound, as he knew that the way he growled was more animalistic than human and that he only did so in circumstances when he was upset or trying to kill someone.

He didn't answer for a while and Kakashi held his kunai up to his chest, very ready to strike if Naruto tried anything funny. He wasn't going to ask again. These days, one never knew who to trust.

Just look at what almost happened to Sasuke Uchiha.

"I was thinking about something that made me a little agitated so maybe I didn't growl in my head like I intended. Sorry if that bothered you. Sometimes what I think makes even me a little put off."

"If you try anything, anything at all, I will not hesitate to kill you. I hope you understand that."

Naruto nodded. He understood alright.

Once again he found himself staring openly at Kakashi's bare chest, his eyes widened a little more now that Kakashi was standing up. The man was built, damn was he ever built, like perfection. Rippled, well cut, washboard flat abs, toned as all hell stomach, and amazing pectorals, tight, but not ripped. The scars didn't do a single thing to mare the fact that Kakashi had a great body that one couldn't help but notice if they were getting the view he was getting.

"See something you like?" Kakashi's voice had startled him out of his trance. He blinked and shook his head. Something he liked? Actually, he wasn't sure.

"I don't know." He replied stupidly, not quiet getting the gist of the question. He couldn't say he didn't like what he saw, because there had to be a reason he was staring, but he couldn't say he did, because he was sure he didn't swing that way.

Kakashi smiled under his mask, though Naruto couldn't see and put the kunai on the table. He was used to that kind of reaction. Naruto had actually done quite well to mask whatever he was thinking, unlike some people he had met, who would openly _gape _at him.

He couldn't help himself, he just couldn't pass up the opportunity to mess with the boy today. After all, Jiraiya had once called him the 'King of Inappropriateness'

"Are you sure?"

Naruto's reaction was just what he had hoped for. His blue eyes flashed with anger.

"Yes I'm sure! What do you think I am, a pervert like you?!"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Augh, I'm not even hungry anymore!" Naruto yelled, spun on his heel, and stormed out of the kitchen with an indignant huff.

Kakashi was pleased with his work. He had managed to make his morning, and he didn't even have to travel all the way to the mission room to piss somebody off.

Naruto practically slammed the door off its poor hinges in frustration. How dare he?! That perverted bastard had some damn nerve! To imply such a stupid thing like Naruto being enthralled by his chest! Ugh, what a perv!

Naruto was most certainly not 'enthralled' with anything about the Jounin. Nothing at all! To even think such a thing made his face burn with rage.

That was rage wasn't it?

'_Of course it is!' _Naruto internally screamed at his annoying muse. Of course that heat spreading across his face and down his neck was rage, what else would it be?

And now his stomach was growling, beckoning him to take his ass back into the kitchen and eat something, but his mind, his poor distress, confused, stubborn mind, was telling him that where he was now was just fine.

In the end, his stomach's reason was louder and made more sense that his mind's.

And he just _had _to forget that to get to the bathroom, Kakashi would need to go through Naruto's new bedroom, so when Kakashi suddenly walked in, the blonde almost had a heart attack.

It sure didn't help that he still didn't have a shirt on.

Kakashi completely ignored the gasp that left his charge's mouth at seeing him so suddenly and went over to his dresser to pick out a clean outfit to wear for the day. He would have to remember to do something about their living arrangements because Naruto had made it apparent that he wasn't comfortable with it. He closed the drawer and walked to the bathroom, deciding that he could make the boy anxious one more time before he went for his shower. He looked at Naruto on his way to the bathroom, enjoying the way Naruto looked back, then looked away hastily, pretending to find interest in the floor.

Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance. That _pervert _was doing it on purpose! What was wrong with him? Did he have to bother Naruto like _**that**_? What was it that he found so amusing about making people angry, and why did he seem to know the best way to do it? Naruto got up and left the room the second the bathroom door closed, _really _not wanting to be around when Kakashi got out.

In the meantime, he supposed he should figure out how to come up with a way to ask Kakashi to train him. He didn't have anything to bribe the man with, and he didn't have anything to blackmail him with. Those things probably didn't work with Kakashi anyway.

He stared at a wall for long while, just about feeling his mind crack at the boredom, but was brought out of his brain numbing lack of activity by the voice of a certain silver-haired man.

"I don't suppose you'd want to help me with my bandages again?" The dull voice said more than asked.

Naruto turned around.

And wished he hadn't.

Kakashi stood there, _dripping wet _in a pair of black baggy pants that he naturally wore and the First-Aid Kit in his hand. His wild silver hair was weighted down by the water and dripping all over his shoulders and the floor, some of it covering his right eye.

"I wanted to do it myself, but it burns when water touches it, so I suffered through the shower. You might not be able to tell, but it feels like these cuts are on fire. If you're willing to help, I would appreciate it. If not…well, I guess I'll just have to manage."

Naruto's jaw tightened to keep from unhinging. He swallowed roughly and looked down at Kakashi's feet, which were bare.

'_He has nice toes…' _He thought distantly.

For the life of him he couldn't feel a 'no' rising in his throat no matter how much he willed it. If he said no, then Kakashi had every reason to say no when he asked to be trained. He had no choice.

The fact that Kakashi had even come to him alone gave Naruto the impression that he had already gotten a little more used to him being around than he himself had. Which was fine. They couldn't both be nervous around each other. As if Kakashi Hatake knew what it was like to be nervous.

"Okay. Uh…."

Kakashi walked over to him and sat down at the table facing him. He leaned back and hissed as he slowly sat down, his arm twitching at the pain. He wasn't lying when he said it burned. Right then every wound, especially the one on his abdomen was singing in agony. The mission had been an A-Rank mission that had suddenly turned into an S-Rank mission in seconds, leaving him with no option but to overuse his Sharingan far too early. The enemies took advantage of his weakened state and tried to shred him with their katanas and shuriken. One of them had even caught him in a potentially deadly whirlwind jutsu that would have cut him to pieces if he hadn't had one of his shadow clones intervene. It was a tough mission, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. Except this mission certainly left him with more souvenirs to take home with him. Stinging, burning, painful souvenirs.

"Naruto, not so rough. And do you think you could use less alcohol, it burns enough as it is."

"Damn it, sorry sensei, I didn't realize."

'_I was too distracted by the fact that I'm touching your naked chest' _

'_Gah! What the hell was that?!'_

Naruto growled and Kakashi tensed up.

"What was that?"

"Nothing Kakashi-sensei." Naruto answered quickly. It wasn't like he was going to truthfully tell Kakashi what he was thinking that made him growl.

Naruto's hands worked careful and more slowly over the red wounds, which actually looked as if they were throbbing. He didn't intentionally want to hurt Kakashi and if he wasn't careful he might lose his chance at some one on one training.

"Uh…" His mouth felt like someone had forced him to eat dust. He tried to find a way to word what he wanted to say without coming right out and asking. If Kakashi said no, then he would try and play it off. Provided he worded it well enough.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, deadpan as usual.

"Umm, I was…uh, well, you know how err, how you gave Sasuke training. I mean, would you ever do that again, I mean not---

"You want me to train you privately?"

Naruto almost gasped in relief. But then his initial insurance plan had failed.

"Well, if you don't want to, I'd understand. I mean, I---

"I didn't say I wouldn't Naruto. You only expect that I wouldn't."

Naruto blushed in embarrassment and damned Kakashi's perceptiveness at the same time.

"I have to go and see the Hokage for her to perform a healing jutsu on me and then we can get started when I say when. See, now that wasn't so hard." He smiled.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Was all Naruto could think to say. Kakashi grunted.

Then he got to the very red, now bleeding wound on Kakashi's abdomen and stopped. Right along with his heart.

The cut was _dangerously _close to the hem of Kakashi's pants. Some of the blood even went…gulp…_down there._

He would have to get closer, bend lower, to attend to it. He swallowed thickly. His face was roasting with shame and embarrassment as he pulled his hands away from the older man's chest to put them on his own knees, for lack of anything better to do with them.

Kakashi glanced down and almost sighed with annoyance. When was Naruto going to get over his fear of awkward and embarrassing situations like this and just do what he had to do? If a ninja like him were ever caught fighting a shirtless killer he would probably die heedlessly in the middle if battle either from embarrassment or because said enemy shoved a kunai through his neck. Kakashi himself had long since grown out of his apprehension at seeing people naked and having seen plenty of people naked, he knew just what to expect. Unfortunately, Naruto did not. Well, it was time he learned.

"Just go on ahead, Naruto. If you were ever left to someone's care to tend to their injuries they would probably die because you couldn't find the courage to just deal with certain situations. That's the first thing we're going to work on, this fear of nudity you have. If you think this is awkward, then you should probably just go now because this is my apartment and I'm used to walking around in a lot less than this."

Naruto inhaled sharply. Less? Less was bad!

"And the bathroom is in your bedroom, so you should get used to this."

Naruto wanted to mutter, "Well, I'm not touching you on your way to the bathroom, now am I?" but if he did, it would give more than just his embarrassment away, and he damn sure didn't want that.

Naruto nodded and with a determined scowl, he leaned forward, practically inhaling Kakashi's scent---which was very fresh from his shower, and pressed the peroxide soaked cloth into the bloody slash across the man's abdomen.

Kakashi growled in pain but didn't twitch a muscle and Naruto painstakingly went over the cut as slowly and gently as he possibly could. It hurt like hell, but he would be the last to admit that he felt as if he _were _in hell at that moment. He would have fared far better if he had simply gone to the hospital and had a real nurse look him over, but this would be good practice for his student. All ninja needed to be equipped with some knowledge of healing and Naruto didn't have any but what he used on himself and that wasn't saying a lot considering that he healed faster than normal humans because of the Kyuubi.

Naruto moved away when he was finished and unrolled some bandage to dress the wound with. He was still an interesting shade of red, he knew.

"Err, you have to lean forward a little so I can wrap this around your waist." Kakashi complied and Naruto reached behind him to wind the white cloth around and to his front repeating until he was done. Kakashi bare shoulder brushed his own tense shoulder as he leaned into him and Naruto could have sworn he felt some of Kakashi's wild hair skim his ear. He was closer to his sensei than he had ever been in their short acquaintance and every second was torture, but he refused to let his mind think for him and run away, which probably would have been a good idea in the first place.

Kakashi had to admit, Naruto knew how to dress a wound.

The boy suddenly got up so fast the chair almost fell over and quickly left the room, almost running out. Kakashi closed his eye and sighed. He really would have to get Naruto to stop killing himself over such trivial things.

Naruto, however, was still having trouble breathing. And still having trouble figuring out what was wrong with him. When he got to his room, he fell on he bed and buried his head in the pillow, hoping to bury his thoughts with it.

The pillow smelled nice, like sweet shampoo and of his sensei who had that nicest, tightest----

"Gah!" He jumped off the bed and glared accusingly the unsuspecting pillow like it did him some kind of wrong.

No! Bad Naruto! Bad! His sensei did NOT have a nice tight body, definitely not a _nice _one. Well, it was tight, but not nice! No! Not that either!

Naruto covered his ears with his hands and tried to block out the forbidden and unwelcome thoughts in his head. He couldn't be thinking of that, he just couldn't be. He just didn't _swing _that way, he never had and he was so sure that he never would but…

…..he had never complimented Sakura like that.

Sure, Sakura was pretty, and had nice hair, but that was pretty much all he saw in her, for her personality certainly wasn't anything to write home about. He had never taken the time to look at her in her bathing suit and think of how attractive she was becoming, but then he had never looked at Sasuke either. Not that Sasuke was ugly, in fact the boy had his own fanclub and that was more than he could say for himself.

But Kakashi was always the one he was careful never to look at because he was convinced that the man had never liked him and so he never took the time to see him. All he knew was that the Jounin was a lazy, dirty-minded bum who always had his nose in a book but was exceptionally skilled as a ninja. That was about it. Who knew he had other admirable att---

"No!" He snapped to himself, out loud. What in the world was going on?! So what if Kakashi had a nice body, that should be a compliment of personal opinion, and it shouldn't have mattered that it was true. But Naruto couldn't help but add other things to it. He had seen the chest of a few men who had otherwise good figures, but with Kakashi he could attach quite a few words to that body.

'_Tight, perfect, gods….'_

Denying it was proving to be very hard to do, so he calmed himself down as much as he could and just let his brain attribute anything it wanted about Kakashi, so long as it was personal, universal opinion. Who could _not _see that Kakashi had a gorgeous body? He was certain he wasn't the only one that thought so, and probably not the only male either.

After he was sure he had calmed down and reassured himself that his thoughts were more than likely not uncommon for anyone, Naruto had decided that he would go and get some food and apologize to Kakashi for acting like a ditz.

When he got to the kitchen, he found that he could only do one of those things. Kakashi was gone.

He sighed thankfully and commenced looking for something to eat. Man, Kakashi was such a health nut, he didn't even have anymore ramen and all that was in his refrigerator was a bag of apples, oranges and a few bottles of fruit juice.

Oh and there was that stale ass bread over in the basket on the counter. An apple sounded great for the time being until Kakashi came home and he could try and swindle the man out of a few dollars to buy some ramen.

Walking out of the room and into the den with his teeth imbedded in the apple, he almost immediately spotted a blue book sitting on the small glass table. Icha Icha Paradise. Naruto's eyes narrowed. He distinctly remembered Kakashi telling him not to touch his stuff, but the book was just _lying _there _begging _him to pick it up.

And he did.

What was so interesting about a stupid little book with people making out in it? If Kakashi wanted to see people make out, he could have just done it himself. What did this stupid little book have in it that kept the most boring man in Konoha so busy?

Naruto opened the book to some eye-catching glossy pages in the middle and sat down.

Well….this was interesting. The people in the pictures didn't have any clothes on at all.

Wait….

Was that man's hands doing what he thought they were doing?!

Naruto's eyes widened with curious surprise. He knew what sex was, having begged Iruka to give him the 'talk'. Iruka failed miserably, but Jiraiya explained it far better. Now he had it in vivid, not so obscure detail. In color too. He looked to the left of the page, where a storyline was going on to describe what was happening in the pictures.

Before he knew it, he was flipping pages in earnest, reading the book with almost perverted interest. These people were touching each other, licking and kissing each other in places he had never even though people would kiss and lick. The story was smut for the most part, but the little bit of plot it had was definitely interesting. Yuuki and Junko sure were hot for one another. It wasn't a wonder anymore why Kakashi read things like this, things like this had a way of putting a guy's mind on vacation and the rest of him on duty.

Yes, his brain obviously wasn't doing any work if he didn't sense Kakashi standing in front of him with a dull, but questioning look on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Shit!" Naruto instinctively dropped his half eaten apple, snatched his arms behind his back and gasped in shock. Then he let a guilty grin cross his face at being caught.

"N-nothing, Kakashi-sensei, I wasn't doing anything! I uh….I was just…uh…well you see, what had happened was…" Naruto spluttered nervously, trying to come up with anything that would save his ass, but he already knew that he was screwed. Kakashi and those damn sneaky ninja skills he had, he must have been standing there for a while, waiting for the perfect time to scare him.

Kakashi was glaring down at him now, and he fought the intense urge to back up and away from the livid man.

"Didn't I make it clear that you weren't to touch anything of mine?" He asked in a dangerously low voice.

Naruto hesitated fearfully before he tried to save his skin one more time. "Well I, I wouldn't have…I mean, it was just there and I was really curious to see what, uh, that is, it's not such a bad book."

"I could tell, you've been reading it for about 10 minutes since I returned and who knows before that. I thought I told you not to touch anything that belonged to me." He said again.

"I know, and I'm sorry, I was just…I guess I should go now." His shaking hand held the book out to his peeved off teacher and dropped it because his hand was quivering so bad. He stared back up at Kakashi and tried to give him his saddest, guiltiest, sorriest look, but it didn't look like it was working.

He was so stupid to think that he could get away with breaking any of Kakashi's rules and live to tell about it. Now Kakashi was sure to kick him out and refuse to train him, all over a stupid little book that he _knew _he wasn't supposed to be reading. Damn his curiosity!

Kakashi bent down to pick up the book and look at the bend to see what page Naruto had been on. "Hmm…" he hummed. The boy had sure gotten to the more interesting part of the story. He snapped the book shut causing the blonde to jumped and scoot back warily.

"And here I was thinking you were pure and innocent. I guess you really are a pervert, aren't you?"

Naruto felt a twitch in his brow. Was this a punishment? What was Kakashi going to do? He was waiting for Kakashi to tell him to leave but the man simply stood, hovering above him menacingly without moving, glaring down at him with an undeniably angry look in his eye.

Naruto could barely breathe.

"Hmm, since you like the book so much, you now have the privilege to read it….out loud."

"WHAT?!" Naruto cried out in horror. Read it out loud?! That was his punishment?! He would have rather Kakashi had kicked him out than that!

"Oh no, I'm not reading that out loud, I'd rather die!" He yelled. He was doing no such thing and that was that! He crossed his arms in finality, hoping that Kakashi would just take the hint and kick him out already.

"I could just tell Iruka." Kakashi said casually.

"NO! Oh God, okay I'll do it! Don't tell Iruka-sensei, please! He'll kill me and never treat me to ramen ever again!" What a horrible person Kakashi was! To do something like this to him, and even blackmail him no less! Terrible, horrible person!

Kakashi smiled in that friendly way of his, but it was anything but friendly. Naruto's eyes glared at him from the floor as he mumbled under his breath, "I hate you. Evil pervert."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing!" He answered hastily. Kakashi was such an evil man! So cunning!

"You can start right now."

Now?! Why?! He was already seething in rage at the punishment, but he didn't even get a little time to compose himself?!

"Kakashi-sensei, can I do it later, I'm---

"I'm sure this is something Iruka would love to hear." Kakashi said boredly.

Naruto hopped to his feet and pointed at him. "You! If you tell Iruka-sensei he'll get on you for leaving the book out for an innocent child's eyes to see! Ha! Now what are you going to do?"

Kakashi's eye curved up into that now infuriating smile. "You didn't have to read it. I'm sure he taught you better than that."

Naruto's arms fell to his side in defeat. Of course, Kakashi was right. Iruka would be angry more at him than the silver haired bastard, simply because it was not up to Kakashi. He did read, after Kakashi had more or less told him not to. He had no credibility with Iruka, and in the end it would be he who was punished for it.

"You're an evil person Kakashi-sensei!"

"I know. Now read." Kakashi tossed the book back at Naruto and walked into the kitchen. "The lighting is better in here this time of day."

Naruto bet it was! He begrudgingly dragged his feet into the kitchen and sat down, grumbling all sorts of colorful obscenities under his breath.

Kakashi sat down in front of him and patiently waited for him to start. "From page 12, you can begin."

Naruto looked down and flipped to said page. He almost ripped the book. "Page 12?! But that's where they start---

"Iruka." Was all Kakashi had to say and he had to bit the inside of his lip to keep from screaming his displeasure to the world. Kakashi was indeed a sick individual.

Naruto sighed and began in a tired, uninterested voice, "Junko trailed his hands lazily down Yuuki's magnificent---

"You don't sound very cooperative to me. Maybe I should go and visit the Academy today."

"Ugh! Fine! Junko trailed his hands lazily down Yuuki's magnificent breasts and Yuuki arched up into his warm ha---Kakashi –sensei, please find something else to punish me with, I can't do this."

"Oh but you didn't have any problem reading it silently. You certainly didn't have a problem breaking one of my rules. I don't care what you think you can or cannot do. If you ever want to see ramen again, you'll keep reading, like you mean it."

Naruto wanted to reach over and strangle the sadistic hentai but he really was dying for his favorite food after having gone a whole week without it. Ramen sounded so good right then, and if he was going to get any, then he was going to have to comply with the man's unbelievable, preposterously, insanely unfair demands. He really hated that bastard sometimes.

Kakashi sat and stared at him, like he wasn't even enjoying the book. Naruto couldn't tell if he was or wasn't, or if was even listening, but he continued anyway, shuddering at every obscene word he came across. Some of the words in one paragraph were dirtier than any word he had ever said. Not even the 'F' bomb, which he himself had dropped on a few occasions, could compare to some of the words he was reading. And it hadn't seemed so bad when he was reading it to himself.

He knew Jiraiya was nothing but a dirty old man who write porn for a living, but he really had no idea! How did Jiraiya get Kakashi into this stuff anyway?

"Grasping both of her massive boobs in his hands, Junko thrust the remainder of his thick---oh god sensei, when are you gonna let me stop?!"

"Keep going."

Naruto wished he were invisible so Kakashi couldn't see his tan face turn red with embarrassment. It didn't help that blood was rushing to _other _parts of his body as well. Damn that perv for making him read such things out loud!

He continued, slowly going over some words twice in disbelief.

"Stop stuttering, and read it. And stop saying things that aren't in the book in between. This is a punishment, it's meant to punish you. Keep going. The more you stutter and stumble over the words, the more I make you read."

Naruto briefly wondered if he was the only one whose underwear was uncomfortably tight. He tried not to squirm around in the chair and give Kakashi any more incentive than he had, but that was proving to be more difficult than he thought it would be. If only he had just left the tempting book alone, he wouldn't be in this mess.

He grit his teeth and went on.

Naruto was fully hard by now, and not squirming around had become impossible. He was made more aware of the heat as his head lightened and his mouth went dry. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and almost whimpered when his hardness brushed the fabric of his constricting pants. Surely Kakashi had noted the movement, but said nothing and continued to stare at Naruto's face.

The reactions the boy was making were very amusing. His face went from red to almost white and back to red several times during different parts of the story. He could see that now the words were flowing smoothly off of the blonde's tongue, as if he was getting used to reading it.

If the way he was moving around in his seat was anything to go by.

He would make Naruto read a bit more, than he would punish him further. If the boy thought that he was going to enjoy any of this, he was sadly mistaken. He crossed his arms and waited for Naruto to find enough courage to continue.

Naruto blanched again. Oh no.

Dialogue. Kami help him he wanted to crawl into a dark corner and wither away in his misery.

"Ah God yes Jun-kun, give it to me! She moaned, bucking up wildly to meet every…."

There goes another sentence.

Another sentence.

Naruto was so painfully aroused, he was afraid that if he moved anymore, he would lose his mind.

"You can stop now." Kakashi finally commanded.

"Oh thank god!" Naruto almost threw the book at Kakashi and made to stand up and leave but Kakashi stopped him.

"I didn't say we were done here. From the looks of things…." Kakashi stood up and walked up to Naruto and casually glanced down.

"…you enjoyed that too much. I've come up with something a lot less arousing."

Naruto wanted to cry.

"Noooo!!! Kakashi-sensei, you're CRUEL! I didn't enjoy that at all, it's an unwanted reaction! And why are you even looking down there?!" His hands flew to cover his crotch, which had by now been obvious too see was tenting the front of his black stretch sweat pants. Contrary to popular belief, he did own something other than the ugly orange jumpsuit he normally wore. He was hoping to get out of the room fast enough so that Kakashi didn't notice, but apparently his punishment wasn't over.

"Oh no? Didn't enjoy it? Not even the part where Yuuki---

"No! I'm done here! Trust me, you've punished me enough! I've learned my lesson, I swear! Please don't make me read anymore, please!"

"While it's nice to hear you _beg _me to stop, I'm not done with you yet."

Oh! He had to have said it that way on purpose! No way Naruto's mind was that dirty! He then understood what his next punishment was. Kakashi was going to embarrass him to tears.

"You read that rather nicely after a while, I'd say you even enjoyed reading how Junko fucked his pretty little lover into the bed."

Naruto had never in his life ever heard Kakashi use profanity. It made his erection almost break from being so hard. Not to mention that for some reason, his balls felt like they were going to ascend back into his body. To say he was horny would have been the understatement of a lifetime.

"Kakashi-sensei, please! I promise I'll never do it again! If you have to tell Iruka-sensei, can't you just make it look like I was only reading it for educational purposes? That way, I learned something and---

"No. I think I'll tell him the truth. You were reading my book, filled with pornography and touching yourself in inappropriate ways while anyone could have walked in and seen."

"You….LIAR! That DID NOT happen! You sick pervert! You evil man! How could you do this to me?!" Naruto wailed, tears brimming in his eyes. Kakashi was not only a vengeful son of a bitch, but he was a liar to boot!

"Yes it did. Who's to say that it didn't? I mean, after all, you were caught, you'd say anything to save your skin. But I saw you with my own eye, and when I tell Iruka what you were doing, you'll never see those beloved noodles of yours again."

Naruto fell to his knees in despair. His life as he knew it was over. All because of a stupid little book and childish curiosity. He put his head in his hands and sobbed in shame.

Kakashi watched the boy with a satisfied look. His job was finished, now Naruto knew better than to disobey him again. "Alright, I'm done. You can go now."

Naruto couldn't have left fast enough. Instead of heading for his room, he ran straight for the front door and fled the house without any shoes on his feet. He had to get away! He ran as fast as he could in any direction his feet took him, wiping away his tears angrily. He was so ashamed! How could he be aroused through such horrible torture? He didn't want to read it, he didn't want to think that those words were what got him hard in the first place, but he did and they did, and now he was embarrassed beyond belief that Kakashi had seen, and blatantly pointed out, his forbidden arousal. Were all Jounin so evil or was it just his sensei?

He stopped when he got deep into the forest and collapsed against a tree in exhaustion. How could he go back there knowing that Kakashi would jib at him about what happened and purposely make his life hell over that stupid little book of his? How could he go back when he knew he was pervert too?

When Kakashi said the 'F' word, his reaction had not been what he expected it to be. Surprise, to be sure, but not to get even hornier than he already was! And how could he go back there, when Kakashi knew just what to do to make him miserable?

Living with him was even worse than living with his other guardians, who used to leave him in odd places to suffer and touch him where they weren't supposed to….okay maybe it wasn't _that _bad, but it was close enough!

Should he go back? Should he stay where he was? Should he….should he go and tell Iruka what had happened before Kakashi got his perverted mitts on him? Maybe that would have been the wisest solution. If he told Iruka first, he would have a better chance of telling the story in a way that would make him seem as if he were the victim. But if he told Iruka, what would Kakashi do? Oh, then there was the fact that Kakash had told him not to touch his things. If maybe he tried to apologize to the guy, he could save himself a lot of embarrassing distress in the future.

No matter how he looked at it, he would see Kakashi again, and it would be awkward and weird, but he would have to get over it. Was he being a bit too childish? Was he perhaps, overreacting a tad? A lot? Too much?

He hadn't intended on running away like a baby, but he couldn't think to do anything else. It was a punishment, and punishments were designed to make people feel terrible about what they did wrong. Naruto was past feeling terrible about it. He wished he could go back in time and leave that little blue, tempting book alone. He felt like he was about to die of shame. Kakashi knew what he was doing, and he had certainly found the best way to do it. If anything could make Naruto feel horrible, it would be to break his pride down and work him from the inside out and that was what Kakashi did. Expertly.

He would go back. He would go back, and apologize, and then forget all about it. Yeah. That's what he would do. He was supposed to be mature after all. He could do that. He could stand in front of Kakashi and not think about him saying the 'F' word in such a context. Right? Right.

Wiping his eyes dry, he stood up and made his way back the way he came. He was going to go _home _and he was going to get through this and learn from it. Because that was what punishments were for.

TBC….

Sorry guys, I had to censor it. I know your perverted little minds would love to see what happened, but nah, I decided that I could make this fic still stay T while skimming M. Anyway, you guys deserved that chapter, and I won't have to censor anything else but the last chapters, but that's about it. I hope you guys don't think you've missed out on too much, because you did. Lol, no, really you could have done without it. Who knows who could be reading…..

Anyway, thank you for reviewing, it makes me happy, and makes me update faster. It also makes me make up my mind about where I'm going to put the finished uncensored faster. I have a good idea now…..maybe a few reviews will clear my head and make me post them say….over the weekend? Who knows? Review and find out.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Yeah…It ain't mine….oh well.

Author's Notes: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! (akin to the sound I made when I saw the amount of reviews in my inbox) The reviews you guys left me were such a pleasant surprise. On Friday night and all day Saturday, I was feeling really crappy with the most horrible headache known to man. I took some pills that I got from Holland as a last resort, and they worked. Otherwise I seriously think I'd have died last night/this morning. Anyway, enough bad details of my life, I'M SO GLAD YOU GUYS LEFT ME SO MANY REVIEWS!!! THANK YOU! I'm sorry I didn't get to set up the LJ account yet, but I promise I'll get right on it now. Oh yeah, and sorry the chapters don't have names, I can't really think of any, and I'm too lazy anyway, lol. Here's chapter Seven, I hope you guys enjoy it. I know Kakashi's mean, but I promise you guys won't mind after the next few chapters. It's what makes the plot so good. Heh.

Once again thanks for all the lovely reviews, and I will get cracking on some good smut for you guys.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER SEVEN

* * *

Kakashi looked up to see Naruto walking back into the house, looking a great deal calmer than he had an hour ago.

Yes, Kakashi mused, he had learned his lesson. But had he gone too far? Maybe, but the result was worth it in the end. Naruto would not be breaking any more of his rules again. Discipline in one of its cruelest forms indeed.

Naruto gave Kakashi a sheepish look and was about to open his mouth to say something when he spotted the book in his hands. He froze.

"What? It isn't any less interesting after what happened. Did you expect me to stop reading it?" Naruto nodded and hurriedly walked past Kakashi to his his room, muttering something on his way.

"What?"

"I said I was sorry and that it will never happen again." He repeated.

"I'm glad to hear that. We have to talk."

Naruto protested with a start. "Kakashi-sensei, I don't wanna talk about that again!" He whined like a three year old.

Kakashi held his hand up. "It's not about that. It's about our living conditions concerning the bathroom. Because the bathroom is in the bedroom, and you have the bedroom, it will probably be uncomfortable for you if I kept walking in your room at all sorts of times in the day to get to the bathroom. The same with if I occupied the bedroom. I have come up with a solution that will benefit us both equally."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I've decided that I'm going to simply get a new apartment. It's the only solution and because I actually make a good stipend at the end of the month to cover my living expenses and other things, I have more than enough to rent a new place with a separate bath. I've been meaning to do so for a while now because the bathroom doesn't have a window. Every ninja should live in a place with various means of escape. Anyway, you should get your things together, I plan on getting out of here today."

Naruto beamed with happiness. Punishment forgotten, he jumped up and down excitedly, laughing and wooting.

Kakashi closed his eye. He did pity the boy at times.

"Do I get my own room?" He asked like a child.

"Yes, Naruto, you get some privacy."

"Yeah!" Naruto couldn't believe he was moving, and with the same person! He was going to be living with Kakashi, the realization had finally sunken in. He was happy he could have hugged the man, but refrained from doing so for all intents and purposes.

"We will begin our training this evening. When I finish this chapter we can go." Kakashi said offhandedly.

Naruto hurried to his room and gathered the little bit of things he had and decided that he would take a quick shower before they left. Without his usual paranoid behavior, he bounded into the bathroom and did a little dance while taking off his clothes and getting the water ready. When he was done happily cleaning himself up, he put on his second to last clean outfit, a white t-shirt and some orange shorts. Orange was only ugly in large amounts.

He walked into the kitchen, feeling good and refreshed to see that Kakashi had a long duffle bag slung over his shoulder and several boxes filled with weapons and scrolls of all sizes at his feet. There were katanas of various shapes and lengths and boxes of different kunai and shuriken and other things Naruto had never seen before. The kitchen was filled with these things. He had no idea Kakashi owned so much stuff!

"I'm going to use a teleportation jutsu to transport these, because it's more efficient. I'll be back and forth, so you just wait here until I'm done." With that, the Jounin disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto decided he would sit and wait for him and nibble on an apple or two. Luckily for him, Team Seven was going to have a week full of missions starting in the next three days, so hopefully he would learn some cool new jutsu to beat Sasuke into the dirt with.

"Yeah, I'll kick that bastard's ass!" He cried vehemently to himself.

Kakashi came and went several times until all of the boxes and things were gone. He popped back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The few bottles of juice that were in there could stay, he decided.

"Alright, let's go. We're walking. I can't teleport people."

They walked in silence for what felt like forever until they reached a nearly secluded area closer to the forest than the village. The sun was already beginning to set when they arrived at Kakashi's new apartment, but the air was still warmer than it usually was for a fall day. Not that either of them was complaining.

"Wow, Kakashi-sensei! This is really nice! Jounins make a lot of money huh? I hope when I become one I can get a fair deal on an apartment like this."

"This is one of the places Gai owns himself. Out of the 'youthful goodness of his heart' he decided to see if I wanted it, considering he was about to by a big house over on the wealthier side of the village."

"Gai-sensei is rich?!" Naruto asked incredulously. He couldn't see that spandex wearing weirdo being a big spender.

"You could say that."

The inside of the apartment, while still sparsely furnished, was spacious and comfortable without being overwhelming with hard wood floors and windows in every room. From the looks of it, there was even a side door. Kakashi had great connections.

"He said something about it being the 'springtime of youth' and that it was time to start anew. I wanted to tell him that technically it's the fall, but there just isn't any talking to that man."

"I know what you mean."

Naruto couldn't help himself and took off through the house like a child on Christmas, laughing and yelling his happiness into the empty rooms.

"I want this one!" He cried and Kakashi took his slow sweet time to see what he was talking about. Naruto had chosen the smallest bedroom, but the one with the best view. Oh well, it wasn't as if Kakashi was going to be spending any time counting stars.

"Hm. There's food in the refrigerator, help yourself as usual. Try not to go overboard and the same rules apply. Now, we'll put the things away later, but you wanted me to train you so we're going to start immediately."

This day just couldn't have turned out any better! Not only did he have his own room now, but there was a lot of food too. Gai-sensei seemed a lot cooler than he had before. Now if he wouldn't only lose the spandex….

…..and put something else on, of course.

Naruto smiled widely and felt his hip for his weapons pouch. Patting it, he followed Kakashi out the door.

* * *

Four hours later, Naruto was lying face down in the dirt, huffing raggedly. His clothing was ripped in various places and he had a bloody nose and a busted lip and a bleeding ear, but he was more than proud to say that Kakashi had not come out of it unscathed. Kakashi, though still standing and not breathing as hard, had multiple bruises and scratches and the zipper on his vest was broken.

Heh, Naruto thought triumphantly. Kakashi had underestimated him. While Naruto was away with Jiraiya, the author of those horrible books Kakashi read, he had learned more taijutsu than anything else and he had surprised his sensei a few times with his technique. While his skills weren't flawless like Kakashi's, he had given the Jounin a run for his money and it felt really good. At the end of the day Kakashi had promised, well not in so many words, that he would teach Naruto the Raikiri, since Naruto couldn't use the Chidori. The Chidori was a mass of pure chakra and if Naruto used it, it would mix dangerously with the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto had gained a substantial amount of chakra control that would even rival Sakura Haruno's and could probably do the Chidori if had more control over the Kyuubi's powerful impulses. The Raikiri, being the epitome of the amount of chakra control it took to maintain the Chidori, was powerful, but it allowed Naruto more control with his own chakra and because he had more than twice as much natural chakra than Kakashi, mastering the Raikiri would be difficult but not impossible.

After effectively wearing the eccentric teenager down, Kakashi was pretty wiped out himself and suggested that they go inside for a delicious dinner filled it vegetables and rice. Naruto frowned at this but before he could complain, his stomach intervened that it would take what it could get. Kakashi smiled at him and took a seat in the kitchen and looked expectantly at Naruto.

Naruto stared back. "What?"

Kakashi closed his eye and sighed. "I hope you don't think I'm doing the cooking, I can't cook."

"Neither can I!" Naruto snapped. He wasn't cooking for that lazy freak!

"I usually just had that nice old lady that lived down the road make my meals when I was home, which isn't very often. Since I've moved, I can't say that I'll be faring any better without her."

"Well, I'm not cooking for you! I'm not your slave! Why don't you seduce some lady to do it for you?"

Kakashi smiled again and scratched the back of his neck like he was flustered. "Because if I did that, she would want to stay for dinner."

Naruto paused. His sensei was more than likely right about that. Women probably threw themselves at him and he didn't seem like the type to reciprocate to their gestures of friendly intimacy. Naruto was sure he had never had a 'girlfriend' before. Before he could stop himself he blurted out something he would regret for the rest of his stay with Kakashi.

"All you'd have to do is take off your shirt in the middle of the village and women will be your slave for free." He hastily slapped his hand over his mouth and backed away from Kakashi, whose eyebrow was raised curiously.

"Shit! I didn't mean it like that! I only meant to say…."

"You like me with my shirt off?" Kakashi asked dimly.

Naruto put his hand over his face, silently cursing himself at his epically stupid slipup. He really hadn't meant for that to come out out loud. But now the words were out of his mouth and he couldn't put them back in and it was proving to be hard to pass it off as something else, so he just stood there, looking stupidly afraid with his bottom lip between his teeth.

"I didn't say that you whore!"

"I don't know of any woman that would be my slave. There must be something about me that would make them profess undying loyalty to me. I couldn't imagine what it was, but you seem to know. So, you really think I could get a free cook just by taking off my shirt? Hm, I'll have to try that someday…"

Naruto wasn't about to run off again. He was mature, damn it and he would take his embarrassing punishment like a man! He and Kakashi were both guys, and guys normally talked about girls, so what was so different about this situation?

"Don't get freaky, I'm just saying! You're the great Sharingan Kakashi. Everyone knows you. I'm sure somewhere in Konoha, you've got some vicious fanclub even more devoted than Sasuke's." Which he had only seen because they had jumped him on numerous occasions for calling his teammate a bastard. Sakura was definitely considered one of the more vicious fangirls.

"Who knows? Since I'm too tired to go out and get myself a slave-girl, what will it take to get you to give dinner a shot?"

'_Not a whole lot' _Naruto mused truthfully. Kakashi was letting him stay, rent free, and cooking was the least he could do. Even if he couldn't do that.

"I'm not a chef, but I'll try. I'm telling you though, we'd be better off if we just had something simpler than vegetables an---

"A strong ninja needs his vegetables." Kakashi interjected, smiling. Naruto groaned and stalked to his room to get ready for dinner.

Kakashi watched him go with a smile in his eyes. It wasn't very hard to convince Naruto to cook for him. Now that he thought about it, it was very easy. Who needed a slave-girl when he had a slave-boy right there in his own home? Kakashi chuckled to himself about that. If Naruto knew what he was thinking, the kid would try to kill him.

Perhaps he could get Naruto to put away all of the things that needed putting away. That way, he wouldn't have to lift a single finger and he could enjoy pissing the blonde off and hearing him mutter interesting curses under his breath at the same time. It would probably take some convincing, but he was a smooth talker.

While he was waiting for Naruto to finish cleaning up, Kakashi pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise and grinned obscurely through his mask. Naruto had been so ashamed reading it, Kakashi couldn't help but find it funny that a loud, foul-mouthed boy like Naruto could manage to put himself to tears reading a single page in the book. It was amusing to say the least. And, he taught the boy a lesson in humility, something nobody so far had been able to do. He had to admit though, he rather liked having someone read to him and the book would have made a good bedtime story. He chuckled again. God, was he perverted.

"Sensei, the bathroom's all yours." Naruto walked into the kitchen, scrubbing his spiky blonde hair dry with a towel in a pair of black shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He looked at Kakashi and frowned.

Why was he looking at him at like that?

"Naruto, would you do me a little favor?"

"….." Naruto wasn't sure if he should have said yes or no so he silently shrugged. Kakashi had this _look _on his face, like he was about to attack him or something. Well, that was what Naruto deduced from the very few expressions Kakashi had ever used.

"While I'm in the shower, do you think you can put all this stuff away? Pretty please?"

"What?! Hell no, sensei! Hell NO! Look at all this shit! I'm not your slave, you lazy jackass! Do it yourself!" Naruto snapped. He knew he should have been grateful for Kakashi's kindness, if you could call it that, up until then, but he was nobody's bitch. He wasn't going to labor heedlessly over all that junk Kakashi had and _then_ make the bastard dinner. It just wasn't happening!

Kakashi was prepared for his enraged outburst and got up, cleared the distance between him and Naruto and bent a bit so that he was at eye level with the blonde and said in a low voice, "Please?"

Naruto turned so red so fast he almost had a stroke. He felt like Hinata Hyuuga, always blushing and fainting every time she saw him. He was never sure why, but he sure felt like her. He stuttered stupidly on his words, trying to hide the obvious fact that he was nervous.

"I-I-I don't want to! I'm not your slave, Kakashi-sensei. You can't make me do it, so just get out of my face and do it YOURSELF!" He put his hands on the Jounin's chest and shoved him away before crossing the kitchen quickly. He glared over at Kakashi, damning him to hell for making him so flustered. Kakashi had even gone as far as to beg him, but he wasn't falling for that, no, Naruto was not going to be his little servant for a stupid 'please'.

"Alright then. I guess you won't be the first to see what's under my mask." Naruto hitched an eyebrow. Did his sensei really think that would work? What would happen when they ate was, he'd find some way to distract him and then eat his food faster than the blink of an eye and when Naruto turned around he would feel like kicking himself for falling for the stupid ploy.

"Nu-uh. It's not happening." He leaned against the counter, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Kakashi really almost had him a moment ago, though he would rather die than admit it. The bastard was another 'please' away from getting him to cave in, and he would never know it.

"Fine then. You got me. I'll do it, but I still expect you to help." Kakashi turned and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Naruto feeling victorious. He wondered if Kakashi had ever gotten what he wanted by using that trick often and decided that he probably did.

Kakashi could be imposing or appealing when he wanted to be. Yes, Kakashi was appealing, almost ridiculously so, with his mysterious attitude and low bored voice and gorgeously tight sexy body….For a man that hid two-thirds of his face, he was still easy to find attractive.

Naruto figured he couldn't be the only male who thought this. Providing anyone else got the privilege to see the famous Hatake Kakashi shirtless _and _wet. It had to be a damn crime for him to be wet and shirtless at the same time. He made straight boys like Naruto's thoughts wander into otherwise undesirable realms. In his defense, Naruto had never had a girlfriend before, so perhaps his undersexed mind was finding his sensei attractive and he would grow out of it soon.

Or so he hoped.

And that damn Icha Icha, he would have to find a way to burn that thing.

If Kakashi ever found out that there was a possibility that Naruto was attracted to him, one of two things would happen: His secret would be exploited mercilessly by Kakashi and if Kakashi was feeling heinous, everybody else. Or Kakashi would tell him to leave. Naruto didn't fancy either of those things happening so from that moment on he was going to resolve himself to being as expressionless as possible when Kakashi was around. In other words, he would mirror Kakashi's personality down to a tee. Or at the very least mask his expressions and reactions as best as he could.

Hell even the asshole's 'eye smile' was nice!

Kakashi came back into the kitchen with the same thing he was wearing before, only it was clean and without the vest. Didn't he wear anything else? Naruto wondered.

"So, we can get dinner started. I've got a list of recipes here from Akane-obaasan that you could try and make."

"And I don't suppose you'll be lifting a finger to help?" Naruto asked, already giving him and accusing sneer. Kakashi looked at him and smiled again. He was doing that a lot lately.

"I asked you to cook and you consented. I never said anything about me helping out."

Naruto went red. "Why you lazy sonofa----

"Anyway, I'd like you to make the third recipe on the list. I already have the ingredients and it's the simplest to make. It's really the least you could do, seeing as I'm not making you pay to stay here."

Naruto sighed in defeat. Kakashi was right. The least he could do was become a damn housewife.

"Great. Now I'll sit here and read and after we eat, we can get started putting all these things away."

"Hn. I'll put all of this stuff away if you answer me one question." Naruto offered, smirking. Surely Kakashi would accept like the lazy ass he was, all Naruto had to do was find something both of them could agree on.

"What am I hiding under my mask?"

"Yeah!" Kakashi sighed, How predictable.

"My face, what else?"

Naruto fell over. It figured that bastard would be so cruelly sarcastic and yet so skilled at being truthful without giving a person the answer he was knew they were surely looking for!

"You…ugh!" He threw his hands in the air, growling furiously. He went about the kitchen, spitefully slamming every hard thing he could find to show his already evident state of anger.

Kakash merely pulled out his book and began reading from where he left off, effectively ignoring the severely pissed off teenager. Junko had dumped Yuuki for Hanamaru, a beautiful blonde secretary. Yes, things were about to get very interesting.

Naruto glared darkly at his bum for a sensei and almost wished he had something to slip into the man's food. Lazing around with that trashy book, when Naruto was slaving over a hot pot. What a bastard! Naruto said he wasn't going to be his slave, but he couldn't help feeling like he were still somehow more submissive than a houseguest. Damn it, if only Kakashi weren't stuck on that 'strong ninjas eat their vegetables' shit, he would be able to go out for some ramen. It had been so long since he had conned a few bowls out of Iruka, he was beginning to wonder if he would ever see ramen again.

He went on about making the meal, which was surprisingly easy, muttering things about stupid perverted Jounin and how he was going to set fire to ridiculous books. And other obscenities that would even put shame to that Tayuya woman from the Sound Four.

Kakashi wasn't listening, too engrossed with the sex scene going on in his book. He jokingly wondered how Naruto would have reacted to reading that particular passage. The kid probably would have been in tears again.

"Dinner is ready, _Master._" Naruto gritted through his teeth sarcastically.

Kakashi looked up at the mention of food. "Master? Hm, I rather like that name." He said, just to piss his little blonde charge off.

Of course, it worked.

"Fuck you Kakashi! I was being damn sarcastic, you ass!"

"Fuck me, huh?" The lazy-eyed man repeated.

Naruto dropped the big spoon in his hand. That was the second time he had heard Kakashi cuss and unfortunately, it was having the exact same effect as it did last time. Before Kakashi could realize, he took off to his room, slamming the door so hard the house shook.

'_Geez, what's with him?'_

Kakashi shrugged and went to see what Naruto cooked. It all actually looked delicious. He was hoping it tasted that way because he was starving. Raising his hands, he performed a quick jutsu to see if the boy had done something to the food.

One could never be too sure.

Seeing as Naruto hadn't attempted to poison him, Kakashi dug in, humming with satisfaction at the taste. Who knew that brat could cook so well? Too bad he wasn't there to enjoy it. Kakashi would have snickered, but Kakashi Hatake did not snicker, among other things.

Pulling out his book again, he proceeded to rudely eat and read, even though nobody was around. Naruto wasn't going to be there, so he could eat at a leisurely pace and pull his mask back up when he needed to. Maybe scaring the boy off wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek so hard his teeth sunk into the flesh, making him growl. His fists were clenched so tightly at his sides that his fingernails dug into the skin of his palm. But Naruto was not angry.

He was mortified.

Out of all the things Kakashi could have counteracted with, it had to be something so obscenely candid as that. He had once told Sasuke the same thing, and all Sasuke told him, was to fuck himself. He had been able to deal with that. But this was different. Because now he was standing in his room, struck speechless _again. _And he had run away _again. _

"Damn it!" He hissed. Why was he being such a punk? It wasn't like he was new to crude humor. He knew Kakashi was a pervert, so why was he losing his head about it?

Right, when all he had to do was find a way to go toe to toe with Kakashi and beat him at his own game!

"That's what I'll do."

Determined, he snatched open his room door and stomped out to Kakashi, who had his head in his book and had hastily pulled up his mask. Naruto wished in the back of his mind that he had been quieter so he could have snuck a peek. Oh well.

"You bastard, like anyone would wanna fuck you!" He shot at the unsuspecting Jounin.

Kakashi looked up at him. As usual, the look in his eye was unreadable and inconspicuous, but Naruto could feel the malicious vibe he was getting from that look.

"I don't know about that, I've had my share of harem girls chasing after me. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you _virgin_?"

Naruto gaped lividly. "If I didn't have this damn demon fox inside of me, girls would be taking numbers and waiting in line!"

"Really, is that why you can't even get Sakura to give you the time of day?"

Naruto was speechless for a moment. "You shut up about that! You don't know the first thing about wooing a girl. All you do is jump into bed with them and coerce them into sex with you with the promise of getting to see what's under your mask!"

That was a good one, Kakashi thought to himself. But it wasn't true.

"Trust me kid, the last thing a girl is thinking about when she's in bed with me is what's under my mask."

"Yeah, you probably drug them so they can't think. They'd have to be stupid to jump into bed with a porno-reading-perv like you!"

"Ah ah ah," Kakashi shook his finger at Naruto. "If that's the case then you read it too. Making you a porno-reading-perv as well."

Naruto smirked. He was doing it! He was staring potential death-by-embarrassment in the face and he wasn't running away! It wasn't so bad after all when he actually did it himself, and he could see that Kakashi enjoyed having a challenge.

"I was curious!"

"You wouldn't be if you weren't an innocent little virgin." Kakashi said slowly.

"I may be a virgin, but if I ever left this village, I'd have chicks riding me all day long!" He yelled.

Kakashi was amazed by how the kid had the guts to suddenly act like a mature adult. He had some interesting insults and comebacks, some of them were even better than Jiraiya's himself. Yes, living with the Uzumaki kid was going to be fun indeed.

"I already have chicks riding me all day long." He responded lewdly.

"Really? Where? Or are you confusing your dreams with reality again?"

"I'm sure you'd love to see me in action, but I wouldn't want you to have a premature orgasm like you virgin teenage boys are known to have."

Naruto smirked wider. Oh, his sensei wanted to play dirty…

"At least I can have a premature orgasm! You got your balls cut off when you were 9 and since then you've been hiding behind that mask like a little bitch!"

That one was quite harsh.

"Wouldn't want anyone to know that you've got a face like a girl! And below isn't much different I bet."

Kakashi could have laughed. He didn't remember having this much fun with Yondaime, who was, as some would be shocked to know, a pervert beyond comparison. He was just a closest pervert. Like father, like son.

"You, you wouldn't know what an orgasm was if you had one. To you it would be a pitiful tickling sensation. I'm right, aren't I?"

"No! You're wrong. I could have gotten tons of pussy when I was away with Pervy Sage, I just chose not to be a male slut-for-hire like you!"

"Oh, I forgot, you're 'saving yourself' for the girl that hates you the most. Wait a minute, isn't she a part of another boy's fanclub?"

Naruto ground his teeth and said in a tightly wound voice, "Sasuke Uchiha is nothing but a little pussy, he obviously doesn't know what to do with some willing ass even when it's being thrown at him. I'm more of a man than he is. I'd bang the hell out Sakura! If she knew what she was missing, she'd be with me! A famous name isn't all it's cracked up to be, huh Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi was enjoying himself and Naruto's witty responses, but if they didn't end this now they would never get to the house in order and get to sleep.

"Naruto, I know you're going through puberty right now, but don't get your hopes up. You've got a lifetime to go before you catch up to me."

Naruto was about to say something particularly nasty when Kakashi held a hand up. "We still have to clean this mess up, and we've got to wake up early in the morning for Team Seven's mission to Iwagakure. And if you want, you can prove me right when Sakura shoots you down again."

"Grrr…" Naruto let out a breath of exasperation. Kakashi was right, they did have that mission to the stone village in the morning and had yet to put the things away. It was now about 10oclock in the evening and normally Naruto would have been in bed ages ago.

He had no idea before why Kakashi was always so obscene with his insults but now he knew. It was fun! It was like releasing tension he had kept inside for years. Finally, someone he could talk to about stuff, even if he spent more time insulting Kakashi than talking to him. Kakashi had actually turned out to be a fun person to be around after Naruto got over his initial childish reactions to his insults. That must have been the way Kakashi made friends, which would have been one reason to explain why he didn't have any.

"Alright, but I won't be the only not getting any attention tomorrow. Sakura gets shot down even worse than me."

Kakashi suddenly tilted his head back and laughed. Naruto gasped with wonder. He had NEVER heard Kakashi laugh before. He hadn't even thought it was possible. And to think he was the one that caused him to do it! Kakashi had an amusing laugh, deep and slow, like the rest of his voice but warm and contagious. Naruto laughed too.

"Do you think maybe we can do it tomorrow? I mean, I haven't eaten yet, thanks to your offer, which I'm going to have to turn down. Don't quit on girls yet Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi laughed again and Naruto smirked at him, happy to make the normally dull man amused.

"Alright, I'm going to bed then. Oh and Naruto, men quit on women for me, I don't quit on women for men." He smiled and left the room and a stunned blonde in the kitchen with his arm poised in midair.

What….was that supposed to mean?

TBC…..

* * *

Oh alright, that wasn't a very rewarding chapter, so I'm going to let you have chapter Eight.

A few gripes some people might have about this fic so far:

Yes, I know there isn't any proof aside from the books he reads that Kakashi Hatake is a pervert, but who can resist him playing the role of a shameless sexual deviant? Well, I can't….

I know I suck at making up missions, but that's what fillers are for.

I purposely alternate between Japanese titles and greetings from time to time.

I already know that Naruto can't use either the Chidori or the Raikiri, but it was useful in this story, and that's what's important.

Kakashi may have seemed OOC, but I tried to keep him as in-character as possible. However, that's impossible in certain plots of fanfiction, so I hope I didn't do too bad.

Thanks again to all that reviewed. Before I move on to chapter Nine, I thought I'd let you guys know that that chapter is going to take a little while. Not too long, but I need to redo half of it so I need time to brainstorm. I hope you guys don't mind waiting a bit, I promise it won't be too long, and if I need more time, I'll let you guys know and keep you posted on when I'm going to update. Nine is the last chapter I was going to post here, but I think I might change the plot from this chapter on to accommodate this site. I'm doing it for you guys, all the people that have reviewed so far and haven't stopped reading because I said I wasn't going to post the explicit version. I think I will now, all I'll do is change it to skim along the lines of NC-17 but not well into that rating. Chapter Nine is very much like the censored version of chapter Six, and I won't be cutting anything out. You should be warned though, I'm a bit of a pervert. Lol, but is that so bad?


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

When Naruto got to the bridge the next morning he couldn't even pretend to be surprised that Kakashi was not there. Kakashi had left before he woke up and left an exploding tag in a tree several meter away to wake him up. Naruto bolted up in his bed cursing Kakashi vehemently.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan! Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto greeted cheerfully like he usually did. And like usual, he got nothing but a grunt and a 'Shut up, Naruto', in return.

He was used to it by then. As they waited for their lazy sensei to arrive, Naruto's thoughts drifted back to the day before and all the things that happened to lead up to their halfhearted bickering. And the last thing Kakashi had said to him for the night. Naruto hadn't seen that one coming. Men were attracted to Kakashi, and Kakashi knew it. Did that mean he enjoy the attention of other guys?

"Sasuke-kun, I hear there's a new restaurant opening in the southern district over by the weapon shop. If you want to go, we could go together wi---

"No." Sasuke muttered, once again destroying Sakura's hopes. She smiled sadly, like she always did and laughed it off, though Naruto knew she was hurting on the inside.

Somehow saying 'Now you know how it feels' seemed wrong at the moment.

They waited for what felt like days until Kakashi popped up in a puff of smoke.

"Yo."

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura yelled, pointing their fingers of accusing doom at their sensei.

"There was traffic on the road of life. I had to take a detour."

"Liar!"

Kakashi gave them all a guilty look and took his backpack off. Digging around inside, he pulled out three scrolls and tossed one to each of them.

"That is a map of the Iwagakure forest. Memorize that as best as you can, because you'll need to know a lot about the territory we'll be covering. Our mission today is to spy on the current Tsuchikage because it's going around that he is committing various acts of treason and siding with Otogakure. They still have ties to Orochimaru, even though he's dead. The location of his experiment labs still remain to be found. The Tsuchikage was allegedly found meeting privately with one of Orochimaru's top scientists. That could only mean something very bad. We are to spy on the Kage and gather information. At no point must we engage in actual combat unless our lives are in danger. If our cover is blown, we flee, simple as that. Is our mission clear?"

"Yes!" Sakura and Naruto affirmed. Sasuke grunted.

"This is a B-Rank mission, so mistakes will be costly. Be on alert at all times, we don't have room for error, no matter how small. Let's move out."

The four man team dispersed into the trees.

Naruto couldn't have been more excited. They had successfully completed their mission, with no casualties and no mistakes. It was perfect!

"That mission was a piece of cake!"

"That's surprising to hear coming from a dead-last like you." Sasuke mumbled. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah, it was probably very easy for you, you know what it's like to be a traitor!" Naruto shot back.

Sakura gasped and instantly went to the aid of 'her' Sasuke.

"Shut up Naruto! You're just a dead-last who doesn't know what it's like to be an avenger! All Sasuke wanted to do was avenge his family. You wouldn't know what that's like because you've never had one!" She bitched.

"I don't suppose that's why you tried to stop him from leaving? Or why you begged me on your hands and knees to 'save your Sasuke,' right?" The blonde asked flatly.

"You have no right Naruto! Just because you're jealous doesn't mean you always have to---

"Shut the _hell _up Sakura!" Sasuke unexpectedly interjected.

"I don't need a fucking mommy. When are you going to get it through your wide-ass forehead that you're _annoying_?"

"W-what?" Sakura asked dumbly. Naruto glared at Sasuke.

"You didn't have to be so harsh."

"I don't need a daddy either. She should have shut her trap when I told her she was annoying 3 years ago."

Naruto didn't say another word. Sakura looked at her 'love' with glistening emerald eyes, but Sasuke didn't return her look. She put her head in her hands and cried.

Kakashi read his book, not really caring that she was whining again. It really was time for her to grow up. Just when he thought that Sasuke's betrayal had finally made her into a mature young woman, she was crying again at being turned down for what had to be the one-millionth time.

Sakura did the only thing she could do. She ran from her teammates, sniffling and babbling Sasuke's name through her sobs.

Naruto watched her leave, but for the first time he didn't feeling inclined to kick Sasuke's ass. Sasuke had inadvertently defended him and Kakashi's words from the previous night were coming back.

'…_you can prove me right when Sakura shoots you down again.'_

'_I won't be the only one not getting any attention tomorrow. Sakura gets shot down worse than I do.'_

And they laughed at that. Naruto still thought it was funny, if not ironic. Sakura was missing out. Sasuke was just a bastard who probably didn't even know what sex was, and he himself was actually feeling relieved.

He had after all, proven Kakashi wrong.

"Sasuke, you're such a bastard." He snickered and to his surprised, Sasuke laughed in reply.

That was the second time he made someone laugh in the space of 24 hours. It felt really good, even though someone got hurt.

Kakashi smiled behind his book, hearing Sasuke laugh. Naruto and the Uchiha boy were rivals, but that didn't mean they couldn't share some good times. Even at the expense of Sakura, who should have known better and just shrugged it off, it was actually a pretty good end to their busy day.

The mission had gone off without a hitch and they had found out that The Hidden Rock Village and the Hidden Sound Village were indeed in communication with each other, but not for the intents that the Tsuchikage was being accused of. The Sound scientist was a spy for Iwagakure that was being used by the Akatsuki member, Sasori. Through his subordinate, Deidara, Sasori was able to gather information by infiltrating the Sound Village a year prior to Orochimaru's betrayal of the group. Unfortunately, when Sasori was killed by Chiyo and Sakura, his jutsu had lost its effect and the scientist had gone back to his village, confused. After trying to gain access to the Rock Village, the scientist was killed by Jounin level ninja.

Kakashi sighed. The next day's mission wasn't going to be quiet as easy.

"I'm going home. That loser is probably bawling her eyes out. I could care less. Later."

Naruto waved and the dark-haired boy took off into the trees. That was the first time Sasuke had bothered to say anything to them on his leave, much less say goodbye. Sakura's pain turned out to be his pleasure. Naruto wondered what Kakashi was going to jib at him about that night.

The mission had ended early, and it was only around 4pm. Had it been a retrieval mission, or an escort mission, it would have taken days, but this mission was pleasantly easy for a mission of B-Rank. Then again, the entire mission could have gone terribly wrong.

"Are you finished staring off into space?" Kakashi's voice broke the silence.

Naruto looked at him. Would it be awkward to leave at the same time?

"If you'd like, you could go first, that way you could get started on lunch."

Naruto threw a shuriken at him. "I'm not your housewife! Stop treating me like some stay at home Mom already!" Kakashi easily dodged the shuriken and smiled, putting his book into his pouch.

Without a word, he walked off in the opposite direction. They didn't want anybody to know that they lived together. Kakashi because Naruto would have been given hell about it and Naruto because he would have been given hell about it. Otherwise, it was safer if people didn't know they were living with each other. Not even Gai-sensei.

Naruto wondered where he was going and how long it was going to take for Kakashi to get home. He liked the sound of that. Home. Simple, yet warm and fuzzy. Weird.

When Naruto got to the house and opened the door, the first thing he did was throw a kunai at the fool standing in the den. Said fool caught the kunai and twirled it around his finger.

"You creep! I thought you were going to let me get here first!"

"I decided that I would just wait for the housewife to come home and fix lunch."

Naruto growled and almost threw the table at him. "I should let you starve. But I suppose you're going to need all the energy you can get to keep up with your little book. How does sushi with tempura noodles sound?"

Kakashi leaned against the wall, and concentrated on the ceiling boredly. "I'm actually done with my book, thanks for asking. That sounds fine for lunch."

Naruto sneered mischievously. "Oh, what will entertain you now? No more little blue book to occupy your time and give you fantasies to go to bed with. I'm sorry. Let me wash up first and I'll start making lunch."

"I'll always have pissing you off as a pastime, which isn't hard to do. As for what I fantasize about, I'm sure you'd like to know. You'd have trouble breathing if you knew what I thought about. You could barely handle reading through some soft-core porn."

Soft core?! If that was soft core, Naruto wasn't sure he wanted know what hardcore porn was like.

"Excuse me for not being a seasoned perv like you."

"You're excused."

Naruto stomped off to the shower.

Kakashi looked around. He had taken the time to move most of the boxes out of the den and into their respective places, but he left some behind, the heavy ones, so that Naruto would have something to gripe about before the day was over.

He liked watching Naruto angry, the boy was more appealing when he was enraged. Naruto always had been the cutest little Genin on his team and even now he was still the most adorable Genin. Partially because the other two were Chuunin and Naruto wasn't.

Naruto had grown to be an attractive young man, that much was undeniable. He had never really paid much attention to the overly loud boy in the horrendous orange jumpsuit but he was glad that he was doing so now. Naruto was much more fun than he originally thought, loads more interesting than the pink-haired girl and Angsty Uchiha. He wasn't as smart, or as talented, but he was strong and passionate, and had all the right stuff to become a great ninja. Yondaime had foreseen his son being one of Konoha's greatest, and while he was a bit slow, Naruto was proving himself in ways that would make his father proud of him, even if he didn't know it.

Now that he had finished his book, it would have been wise to stop at the bookstore and see if Jiraiya had put out anything new lately. That or he would try that new author Genma had told him about…

"You must be really bored without your beloved Icha Icha. I know you left those boxes in the middle of the hallway for me to pick up, knowing how heavy they are. Jiraiya told me not to tell you this, but he won't be writing anything for the next two years. Sorry to burst your bubble. Oh wait, no, I lied, I'm not sorry."

Kakashi felt as if his world were crashing down on him. No more Icha Icha or Makeout Paradise books for TWO YEARS?! He wanted to scream his despair, but he wasn't that kind of ninja so he just settled for a long sigh and a sad shake of his head. Naruto must have felt good telling him that. Vengeful brat.

"Aw, the housewife didn't draw me a bath?" Naruto's eyes flashed.

"What housewife would you be referring to, the one that wouldn't draw you a bath on your life, or the one who doesn't even exist to do so?" He asked stiffly.

"The first one."

Kakashi ducked a spatula.

Lunch was edible _at best_, though Kakashi would have rather eaten something cooked by a real professional, like Akane-obaasan, but he would need patience, and a strong stomach for some of the things Naruto had yet to learn to cook.

"How did manage to---

"Shut up." Naruto growled.

The kitchen went back to being silent.

The noodles, first of all, were burnt, and the sushi….Kakashi didn't have the heart to take another bite of that. By the look on his student's face, Naruto wasn't too pleased with his own cooking himself.

"Look, I'll spare you the horrors of your cooking for this one night and order some ramen---

"Yeah! Ramen!" Naruto cried out a like a child. Some things just never changed.

"But the dishes aren't going to wash themselves, so you better do those first before you get started on those boxes."

"Why you deplorable, lazy, perverted, self-absorbed, cocky son of a bitch!" Naruto snarled. Kakashi was a damn slave driver!

"I don't do dishes, what can I say?" Kakashi expressed thoughtfully, making sure to look like he was paying more attention to his fingernails than to Naruto, because he knew, Naruto didn't like to be ignored.

"All you do is sit on your lazy ass! You don't do shit around here, you idiot!"

"That's what you're here for. I don't have to do those things, I've got a cute little blonde maid here who does it for me." He remarked lazily, turning his hand over to pay special attention to his palm.

Naruto's eye twitched. Did Kakashi just call him _cute_?

"I'M NOT YOUR MAID!! The only reason I'm even cooking for you is because you were nice enough to let me live here!"

"Now that I think about it, you should help out with the laundry too…"

"You jerk! I'm not touching your dirty old-man underwear! You do your own laundry, and I'll do mine!" Naruto snapped indignantly. Kakashi was an even bigger bastard than Sasuke and that was saying something! How dare that asshole think he was going to perform household duties like some simple-minded servant?! Had that asshole no respect?!

"Hn, well, if I asked you to, you'd probably do it." Kakashi muttered.

"Who says?!"

"I'm your sensei, I can punish you if need be. I can make your life several times more difficult than it already is."

"Are you blackmailing me?!"

"Blackmail? No, I'm sure it won't ever have to come to that, all I'd have to do is ask you a few times to do something. You'll do it."

When did that asshole get so cocky?! Naruto wondered.

"You can't make me do shit! What are you going to do if I don't wash the dishes?"

"Nothing. I'm asking you to. As a favor. Will you wash the dishes for me?"

"I do every damn thing else!"

"Then do—

"I'll only do them because if it were up to you they'd never get done."

Kakashi shrugged. "I usually have the last girl I mess with wash them for me. Either that or I never use them."

Naruto's mouth, unfortunately, was quicker than his common sense. "You aren't having sex with me, so you better get used to eating with paper and plastic from now on!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You do dishes for sex?"

Naruto blushed madly and banged his fist on the table. "NO! You perv, I was being serious! Only your perverted mind would come up with something like that!"

"You said it, not me. Anyway, I'm a smooth talker, it wouldn't take much to get you to wash them for me, today and the next time we use them."

"You sure are full of yourself, eh sensei? Jounin are always self-absorbed. While we're arguing, not only are you precious dishes not being done, but I'm still not washing them. Why don't you bring one of those call-girls home to wash them for you. You probably have to trick her into washing them first so she won't be sorely disappointed in your pathetic performance in bed and refuse to do it after!"

Kakashi closed his eye and relaxed into his chair. There was nothing like bickering with a hot-tempered blonde to make his afternoon. Although he was a bit put off by some of the more demeaning insults Naruto hurled at him, he was a good sport. Naruto was very easy to embarrass.

"Nine and a half inches seems to satisfy most women." He said casually.

Naruto gawked at him in disbelief. Was he talking about his---

"N-nine and a half inches of what?" He squeaked. There was no way Kakashi could have been talking about what he thought he was talking about and with _him._ Not his…not that.

Kakashi smiled and shook his head. It was so easy to confuse Naruto. "Nothing. The dishes still need washing."

He watched Naruto face go from flustered pink to angry bright red in the blink of an eye and almost laughed. And they said blondes were dull….

"Yeah, the dishes need washing and I'm not doing 'em. Learn to do them yourself or get those 9 inches of whatever you were talking to get them done for you! I'm going outside to practice my new jutsu, so call me when you're done." Naruto stood and headed for the door. Kakashi stood as well.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Mother?" The Jounin offered plaintively.

"Bastard! Forget I asked!" Naruto huffed.

Kakashi grunted and walked off. Naruto watched him, his blue eyes unconsciously trailing down the Jounin's tall frame.

'_Nice ass.' _ He mentally praised.

It was too troublesome to argue with himself about certain things, such as finding his Jounin sensei attractive. It didn't mean he was ever going to let the man know this, so long as he kept it to himself, he would be fine thinking about it now. It was a stupid thing really, to argue with oneself, it only proved you were a fool, and Naruto Uzumaki was no fool!

His pervy sensei was forever going to oblivious to what his live-in student thought of him, if Naruto had anything to say about it. If all he did was keep insulting the man, Kakashi would get the impression that he was put off by him. It was actually quite the opposite. In the few weeks he had been living with the guy, he had found Kakashi's company easier to deal with if he talked to him like they were friends. Kakashi would probably never admit that Naruto was his friend, but the teenager was sure his sensei enjoyed his company just the same.

Kakashi's pervertedness was actually beginning to amuse Naruto, who had been totally creeped out by it from the start. But when Kakashi wasn't pissing him off, he always had the time to inconspicuously admire his sensei. Kakashi was drop-dead hot, even with two-thirds of his face covered. Naruto had seen enough to know that Kakashi's face wasn't the only thing he wondered about. With a body like that, it wouldn't be surprising if the man had very little imperfections. It didn't explain why he hid his face, but Naruto didn't find it so hard to look past that and see the finer attributes his silver-haired Jounin possessed. Like, for example his very nice ass.

'_Aoohoh, I must be attracted to both genders. Hn, something about that isn't striking any chords in me.' _He was glad for that. Sure, he still appreciated the female figure, as he went out of his way to keep his Oiroke no Jutsu in top shape. Yeah, if he ever met a girl like his Sexy Jutsu form, he'd date her himself.

Naruto looked around. He really hadn't gone outside to train, but seeing as he was out there, he guessed it wouldn't be so bad to work on some taijutsu. He had to catch up to that Rock Lee and beat him one day. After all, Naruto couldn't stay a Genin forever. Once the next Chunnin Exams came up, he would already be closer to qualifying for the Jounin Exams. Just a few steps closer to becoming Hokage. Naruto grinned to himself and began his exercise. He had adopted Lee's resolve of if he could not do one thing, he would do more of another.

TBC….

Couldn't find a good way to end this chapter, so….sorry. Anyway, I didn't think Chapter Seven was satisfying enough so I brought out two chapters instead, so I wouldn't leave my loyal reviewers wanting. See, I care! So, I'll be working on the next chapters this week, and it will take a while, because I'm extending it. It will probably take about a week or two, because I wrote this story with nine chapters already completed, I intend to write a few more before posting it so I won't keep you guys waiting too long. But you must bear with me, I'm in college, and it's grueling and I have work, and other things I need to take care of. So, I hope you guys hang in there for me, and all new reviewers are more than welcome to leave reviews, even if the fic has been there awhile. Thanks!

Ja'ne!


	9. Chapter 9

Situational Hazard

Disdlaimer: It ain't mine. Naruto, I mean, duh.

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Hello, I'm back, and I have an coughuncensoredcough chapter for you guys. Now, don't freak out, and yes, I'm a hentai. I hope yo guys share my sentiments, lol. Anyway, enjoy, and the next chapters will follow soon. Ja'ne!

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CHAPTER NINE

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Naruto had been training for nearly two hours when he caught a glimpse of Kakashi going into the house with his nose in a book.

'_So that's where he went' _The perv.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you didn't bring back any food?"

Kakashi looked up from his new book and rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "Oh…no I forgot about that."

Naruto shook his head. He couldn't even be mad at him. Kakashi went back to his book, which read something on the cover about 'Love, Sex, and Betrayal'.

Hmmm…..

"Kakashi-sensei, is that like the ones Pervy-Sage writes?"

Kakashi looked up again, this time he closed the book and put it in his back pocket. "You want to know if this book is like the others I read?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've never seen you read anything but that Icha Icha stuff."

"No, I read other things, Jiraya's book are just better, but that doesn't mean there aren't any other good books." He replied, heading off to the direction of his room.

Naruto looked after him, his eyes again going to admire his ass. Naruto smiled. Kakashi would never know.

Suddenly he turned around and Naruto's eyes zoomed down to not get caught.

"You can order ramen, I'll be in my room. I'll have 2 bowls. Please don't overdo it, I'm not rich or nearly as easy to swindle as Iruka. Your limit is 4. Nothing more. If you order more than 6 bowls altogether, I'm going to make you read this book. This is hardcore, what you read before was soft, if you want to avoid such a punishment, you won't disobey me this time."

Naruto rolled his eyes and looked around. He didn't see a telephone anywhere. Didn't Kakashi have a phone?

"It's in my room, follow me."

Oh! He was going to Kakashi's bedroom! He had never seen the inside before and eagerly followed. Kakashi stepped inside and led him to a dresser next to his bed.

"I guess I forgot that you can't overdo it when I'm going to be near you when you order."

Naruto hesitated. If he called, Teuchi would immediately know it was him. "Ah, Kakashi-sensei, can't you call? Don't think it would be better that nobody knew I was here?"

Kakashi sighed. It seemed like every time he wanted to get into his book, Naruto would always find some way to stall him. But, he did make a point. It would be best if he called.

"So I'll be in my room while you do that. I'd like beef, pork, chicken, and the ramen house special please!" Naruto grinned brightly at him and left the room. Kakashi toed his shoes of and picked up the phone. Naruto was too cute to be angry at, he mused. Everything that boy did was cute, right down to when he threw sharp objects at him in frustration. Kakashi groaned. It really was a shame Naruto was so weirded out by him, or else Kakashi would have taken their 'games' up a notch. Naruto was mature, even though he wasn't quite legal, the age limit really only applied to boys under 15 and females under 18 years of age. Naruto was 15, which was perfect. If Naruto was even remotely interested. Oh well, he would always have his games to play and watch Naruto squirm whenever he said something inappropriate. Naruto was becoming quite good matching his insults, one day Naruto would have him at a loss of words, but that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. He was still the 'King of Inappropriateness'

He ordered their meal and relaxed into his bed to get settled into his book. This book, was slightly more perverse than Icha Icha, but it lacked a real storyline. It was more smut than Jiraiya's books, but it was still good. He took off his vest, slipped off his shirt and got comfortable, lying on his back and crossing one leg over the other. He would relax for the rest of the day and get some rest early for the next day's mission, which he had yet to be briefed on. All he knew was that it was another B-Rank mission, except Team Seven would be traveling to the Lightning country as a favor to the king there. Godaime wasn't clear, but she explained that they would be away for a few days and that the mission was to be proceeded with extreme caution.

Well, he was going to get some reading in while he could, because he might not have been able to read on the mission. Though Naruto was just a Genin, he had not made it to Chunnin status solely because of his absence during the last five Chuunin Exams but he had been able to take missions higher than C-Rank with the Hokage's permission. Naruto would be well prepared because he was far stronger than Sakura and a rival in strength and speed for Sasuke, maybe even surpassing him. Speaking of Sakura, Kakashi wondered how she would act the next time they met. She would probably be moodier to Naruto than usual, and hesitant and nervous around Sasuke for fear that he would snap on her again. But Naruto and Sasuke shared a rare moment at her expense, maybe things would be worse when they saw her.

Should he be sorry for her?

Nah.

She'd get over it.

There was a knock at his door, likely Naruto coming to tell him that the food had arrived. He opened the door and walked past Naruto, who stepped into the room to not be seen by Teuchi.

"Hatake-san, I didn't know you like ramen so much. Six bowls is a lot, you have other guests?" Teuchi asked politely. Nosy old fart!

"Something like that." Kakashi said, taking the food and closing the door in the old man's face as soon as he stepped out. What was it about old people and their need to know everything about everyone else's business?

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Taking out the noodles and setting them on the table, Kakashi went about getting counting his change making sure he had all of it. Old people were crafty. "Yes?"

Naruto nervously swallowed the lump in his throat, shifting from one foot another. Looking at away he said in a low voice, "If I asked…" He paused. "I was just curious to know that if I had asked you that day if could read the book first….would you have punished me for it?"

Kakashi's eyebrows raised at the unexpected question. He hadn't really thought about it. Naruto always hated his books, so he wasn't sure what he would have done if, hypothetically, Naruto asked to read one of them. "Well, I suppose you're old enough to make your own decisions. But if you had asked me, I would have let you read it when I was finished with it. At the time you read it, no, but if it was now, then I'd have let you read it. Why? You want to read it now that I'm done?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I just wanted to know what you would have done. But I see you with those books, and you seem to like them a lot and I mean….maybe it's not really something to be ashamed of. It's just a book and I guess it isn't as bad as I thought. Don't get me wrong, reading it out loud was torture, but I did like reading it to myself…."

Kakashi smiled. He was beginning to rub off on the boy already. "Go ahead, they're in my room on the nightstand. Don't touch anything else, or you'll be reading this book out loud next."

Naruto paled a little and nodded vigorously. That was the last thing he wanted. Certainly not when Kakashi was walking around shirtless as if it were nothing. Maybe not to him, but poor Naruto thought he was going to have a heart attack. If he paid anymore attention to that body he wasn't going to get a wink of sleep tonight and they had a very important mission tomorrow. Why did Kakashi have to look so damn good? It was like being in a ramen shop, starving, and not being able to eat a single noodle. That's how bad it was.

He took a seat at the table, carefully sliding into his chair while watching his masked housemate out of the corner of his eye. Kakashi was snapping his chopstick apart, ready to eat his ramen and Naruto waited to see what he would do. He wasn't going to let his sensei distract him this time.

Kakashi was aware of the patient azure eyes fixed on him when they didn't think he could see. Whether Naruto was waiting to see what he would do or not, he wasn't sure, but he continued to make it look as if he were prepared to pull down his mask and eat. He would have to find a way to distract the curious fox ninja, and he would have to be quick about it because he was hungry and all he wanted to do was eat.

'_Hmmm, what would distract him….' _

His stomach growled noisly, as if to tell him to hurry the hell up and think of something already, but he hadn't come up with anything yet. Why did the life of a masked man have to be so hard?

"If you watch me eat, I'll make you read this new book I have, and if you don't do that I'll tell everyone you know that we're living together."

Naruto promptly got up and left.

Kakashi smiled happily. Now he could eat.

"I hate you!" He heard from down the hall. He smiled and began to eat, pulling his book out to take his time. He would make sure to piss Naruto off especially bad today because there would be no games for the next few days, which he couldn't say he was looking forward to.

Reading leisurely, he kept his senses focused on Naruto incase the brat tried anything foolish. He almost wished he would try something, because the book he was reading was very kinky and naughty. Making Naruto read from it would make his month.

Naruto muttered in his room to himself about 'stupid blackmailing Jounin' and other colorful choice words about Kakashi. And he was starving while that porn-reading asshole ate his ramen hot and steamy, just the way Naruto liked it. By the time he got back, his noodles would be cold and there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do about it. Was reading that stupid book worth all of that? Cold noodles were a serious mood killer. If for just one day he would indulge in his sensei's sick punishment but never again. He would find a way to get that bastard back and when he did, he would make him cry! Yes, he would go into the kitchen and read that dirty book for his ramen. Sacrifices had to be made!

"Hey Kakashi! I want my ramen, so you better eat faster and put that damn mask back on!" He stomped into the kitchen to see that Kakashi had his mask up, but had not finished his food. And there he was hoping he wouldn't have to make that sacrifice.

"What did I tell you?" Kakashi flipped through a few pages in his book, looking for the worst scene for Naruto to read from. Ah, there was a good one.

"You want to eat so badly, then you should have done the dishes earlier when I asked you to, that way you could have eaten while I was away. Oh well, you missed your chance, now as soon as you're done eating, you can start from here."

He handed the book to Naruto, who snatched it from him and put it down. Slurping his noodles, he moaned at the hot, salty taste. It was still fresh and delicious, thank goodness. He supposed he'd have to enjoy it as much as he could because when he was finished, he would be begging for a hole to crawl in and die.

Kakashi watched him eat patiently. Naruto seemed to really like that ramen…..Kakashi consciously watched the boy's tongue flick out to lick up the salty broth that dripped from his full lips, moaning in delight at the taste.

'_He could be dangerous with that tongue' _he thought to himself. If only that kid knew…..

Naruto could feel Kakashi's eye on him and ate slower, trying to prolong the little bit of time he had left before he resigned himself to his embarrassing fate. He did it once, and would do it again, but it didn't mean he was looking forward to it. He would do almost anything for his ramen, but that didn't include putting himself to shame more than once.

Kakashi would win this, just this one time and never again, Naruto vowed. Either he was going to have to find somewhere else to eat, or eat at a different time.

Naruto finished the last bowl way too soon. He almost whimpered when he saw that there were no more noodles and no more broth. He looked down at his inevitable doom, sighed like he was taking his last breath, and picked the book up. One look at it and he almost threw it across the room in shock. Perhaps he shouldn't have been too hasty with the food…

"You did this to yourself. Think of it as self-control. You lack discipline---

"Yeah yeah, whatever! I'll read the stupid thing, but I'm telling you it'll be the last time!" Naruto hissed. Looking at the page again, he closed his eyes and took deep, calming breaths, that of course didn't work, but he did it anyway. God Kakashi had a filthy mind.

"Did you do this on purpose, sensei? Did you go to the bookstore today and get this book, just so you could do this to me again?"

"Actually, that was just a coincidence." Kakashi crossed his arms, assuming the pose he took the first time.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Coincidence his ass.

"Okay, and no making me read more if I stutter or pause. Some of the stuff in this book are not something I read on a daily basis like you do."

"That's fine." Kakashi agreed. Too bad Naruto didn't know that a price came with self-sacrifice.

"Alright. Ahem… "Kensuke tapped the girl's chin lightly, trailing his finger over the skin of her cheek and to the back of her neck where he fisted her raven curled in his hand tightly, pulling her head back until she was looking up into his eyes. "Ah, sweet little Hina--- HINATA?!" Naruto was aghast. He couldn't read that part of the book! The girl had the same name as that weird Hyuuga chick!

"Kakashi sensei, can I read another one? Please don't make me suffer like that!"

Kakashi had to agree. That one was awkwardly ironic. "Page 26, the third paragraph."

Naruto gave him a look to which he responded with a shrug and an eye smile.

"Let's see…ah no familiar names. Okay. "Hitori probably wouldn't have minded being shackled by her wrists and ankles on her knees in the dark if it weren't for her…was this book made to make my day miserable?"

Kakashi blinked silently but waited for him to continue.

"…her sensei standing in front of her twirling a pair of keys around his finger. "Look what we have here?" He sneered sweetly, tossing the keys away. Hitori blushed and looked away. She knew she had been a bad girl. "My straight-A student, Hitori Kagame being punished for…what was that….for engaging in sexual acts in the school janitor room?" Hitori whimpered shamefully. It was true. When they caught her she had her mouth---holy shit!"

Kakashi groaned.

"Sorry! Geez! Anyways, "When they caught her, she had her mouth occupied with Aoikshio-sempai's thick cock, and her pussy occupied with Rei-kun's condom covered prick. Normally she waited until she was safely under the bleachers to satisfy her burning desire for come, but today she couldn't keep her resolve and had sauntered into the boys locker room with her underwear in her hand and a horny gleam in her eye. Now she was caught and serving detention for it and she knew her sensei was going to punish her severely for being such a horny slut inside of the building."

Kakashi was immensely enjoying his little Genin's face while he read, his own plain and uninterested as usual. He had an erection, but Naruto would be too busy with the book to notice. Spreading his legs a bit and slouching in his chair, Kakashi tightened his hold on his arms and glanced at his unfinished bowl of ramen. It had been worth it.

His and Naruto's chairs faced each other, as he had pulled his out so he could sit closer to Naruto to make him further uncomfortable so if Naruto stopped reading and looked down, it would be impossible to miss the bulge in his loose pants and vice versa. He was throbbing hard by now, but Naruto had yet to get to the best part.

"For your detention, I'm going to do the one thing I know will displease you the most." Hitori remained shamefully silent, awaiting her punishment like a good girl. Her sensei lightly smacked her jaw with the ruler in his hand. "Aren't you going to ask me what I'm going to do?" He asked mockingly, and dropped the ruler to bring his hand back and slap her hard across the face. She cried out and rubbed her reddened cheek against her bare shoulder. "W-what will my punishment be, sensei?" She whispered. "I'm going to make you go for the rest of the day without come!" She gasped, struggling against her bonds, fighting wildly. What a cruel man her sensei was! How he could deny her her favorite thing in the whole world, for hours? "No please no sensei, please don't do that to me!" She wailed pitifully. He smirked and slapped her again, grabbing her face in his other hand and forcing her to look at him. "Ummm, right, Hitori. If I did anything else to you, you'd like it like whore you are! No, I'm going to make you regret being a greedy cock-slut in the janitor's closet when you are supposed to be in class. You're going to blow me and…I think you already know the rest."

Naruto would have given ramen up for a month to run to his room and take care of his hard-on, but his evil perv sensei hadn't told him he was done yet, so he wriggled in his seat, trying to make his arousal less obvious. Now he was a pervert too for enjoying the girl getting slapped around for having public sex while class was in session. And if the word 'sensei' didn't make his shame worse….

"Hitori started to cry softly, begging her sensei to have mercy on her. But he wouldn't listen. Pressing her face to his crotch, "Undo my pants with your teeth you little slut." He growled. She desperately pleaded with him to at least unlock her handcuffs so that she may finger her dripping wet hole and got a harsh slap for an answer. "No! Now hurry up, the longer you take the longer you stay." She hastily unbuckled his belt with her white little teeth and leaned back to await further instruction. "Good, now get on with it. When I'm ready to come, I'll let you know." He reached into his briefs and pulled out his aching hard dick, pressing it to her ready and wet tongue. He groaned as her hot mouth closed around him and she eagerly went to work doing what she did best. She moaned around it, her lips fully encasing the head where she dragged her ton----

"Stop." Kakashi rasped. He could have sworn Naruto looked disappointed at the interruption. He couldn't allow him to go any further without snatching the book from him to read it himself.

"Stop. Put it down." Naruto put the book down and made to get up. "No, where are you going? You enjoyed that too much again. Not only that, but it seems that effect of this punishment has worn off. Luckily I've come up with a new one."

Naruto whined childishly. Damn it, he didn't want to play anymore games, he wanted, to go and have a cold shower and get away from his sensei! Kakashi didn't say anything for a while, as if searching for something he could come up with to kill the rest of his day. Naruto didn't want to put his hand in his lap and look like a sissy, so he sat there, red in the face and stared down.

His eyes dragged angrily down the Jounin's amazing torso and down, itching to see if he wasn't the only one. He should have expected that he shouldn't have been shocked but he was. He gasped.

'_Holy fuck, I can __**see **__it!' _Now he had to get out of there or he was going to lose his mind and do something stupid!

"Kakashi-sensei please! Can I please go take a shower now? You're used to being hard all day with all those dirty thoughts in your head but I'm not, can't you let me go and finish this another time?" He begged, hoping against hope against hope that Kakashi wasn't feeling evil today.

Kakashi just stared at him and didn't make a move to dismiss him.

"Sitting here is horrible enough punishment, sensei!"

"Oh? Are you busy? Is there somewhere you need to be that you can't take your punishment like a man right now?"

'_That's just it, I'm trying not to think of taking__**anything **__like a man'_

"Uh, yeah, I'd like to go and take a freezing cold shower!"

"No no no, see if I let you go now, I won't be enforcing discipline and you'd take me for a sucker. No, I think you'd better just stay right here. It's only…" He glanced at the oven clock, "9:47pm. I've got at least 15 more minutes to get my point across."

"Wait, but I didn't watch you eat, so why the hell am I getting in trouble?!"

"That's not the point. I didn't get to finish my food, and now it's cold, and now you're paying for it." Kakashi stated pointedly. He knew it wouldn't be long before the blonde hit a breaking point and a ran away crying again or did something more interesting.

"I can see that you know I'm having the same issue you're having, but this isn't my punishment. I told you to do something and you _chose _to do otherwise. Now we're both sitting here aroused and in need of relief. And it's your fault, you know."

Naruto sat where he was but didn't give the Jounin the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable he truly was. God, all he wanted was for a dark chasm to open up underneath him and swallow him down into sweet misery. But Kakashi wouldn't know. No. Naruto would play this game, and he would win, or make Kakashi give up. He was going to bring the pervert down _several _pegs. And he was going to be very….mature about it.

Smirking, he silently leered at Kakashi, who looked like the reaction wasn't what he wanted. But he was being idle just the same, and Naruto sensed a challenge.

"Kakashi-sensei. See, maybe you don't have a problem jerking those 'nine and a half inches' in front of another guy, but I'm a little new to the experience. Do think you can give me a while to get used to it?"

Kakashi's eye went wide. Naruto's smirk went wider.

"What's the matter, _sensei_? Are you disappointed? Don't be." Naruto got up. "I'm going now. Unless, you were had _something else in mind_?" He snickered evilly, eyeing the Jounin up and down suggestively, before tilting his head back and letting out a cold laugh, waltzing out of the kitchen, leaving Kakashi sitting there blinking dumbly.

'_Heh, that showed him!' _Naruto praised himself gleefully. He knew the older man was flustered and the knowledge of this almost sent the boy into hysterical laughter, but instead he just did a little taijutsu victory dance. It was the last thing Kakashi could have seen coming, it was only a spur of the moment thing for him himself. But he was happy with the result, and knew he was going to be spending a quite night alone in his bed, no pervert jibbing him and teasing him.

He would get in the shower and get in bed early, a wide smile on his face. While he wanted to see his sensei's face right then, he figured he deserved some delayed gratification. After all, it was the best kind of gratification.

* * *

I know, I've been away for a while, but come on guys, it was T-Day. So I hope you aren't too mad at me. I know I said I was going to post when I get three chapters done. I'm just posting them one at time.

Ja'ne..


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto is own by….damn I forgot his name…. but you get it.

Hello guys, here I am with Chapter Ten, and I know you guys will enjoy it. There isn't much action, but I am finally getting along with the good stuff. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

* * *

Naruto was playing with fire. And he was going to get scorched.

Kakashi woke up at 5am with revenge on his mind and mischief in his eyes. Yes, Naruto had no idea what he was up against, though Kakashi would be the last to admit that Naruto comeback got to. He was five seconds away from shutting the boy up, but he would wait. The right moment would present itself soon. He would take his time making up for his defeat in the kitchen. Poor Naruto would regret uttering those words. And that _look_.

'…_.unless you had something else in mind.'_

He had no idea.

Kakashi rolled out of bed like the lazy bastard he was and dragged himself to the shower, knowing that Naruto wasn't awake. Scrubbing languidly, his mind focused on the vengeful thoughts swirling around in his head and went about choosing which one would be the best coarse of action. Naruto was smart. But he was smarter. And he was still the King of Inappropriateness' if he had anything to say about it. The only person who ever came close to beating him was Iruka Umino. And the Chuunin paid dearly for it.

Next was his little pet fox.

Stepping out of the shower, Kakashi reached forward to lock the door, which he berated himself for not doing so before he got in the shower, and simultaneously opened the mirror cabinet and swiped his razor from the shelf. He didn't really have much to shave, but he liked his face to be smooth, even if he was the only one that could see it.

Naruto was awake.

Sliding the blade across his pale face, he idly wondered if the boy would be expecting some form of revenge, and decided that if he were, he would more than likely be on his guard. He shrugged and went about his normal morning routines, knowing that at any minute, Naruto would be banging the door down yelling at him to hurry up like he did every morning.

* * *

"Ahhhhhhh…" Naruto yawned and smacked his lips tiredly, rubbing the sleep out his eyes. Lazy in the mornings like his sensei, he rolled out of bed and onto the floor, but promptly jumped to his feet at the cold wood on his skin. Now he was up.

His hazy mind led his heavy feet out of his room and to the bathroom, where he would proceed to bang the door down and yell at whoever was in there. When he got to the bathroom door, it was open and empty. Naruto blinked. That was a first. Kakashi usually took his sweet time in the bathroom to piss him off, but he wasn't there. Naruto, in fact, couldn't sense him anywhere.

"Mussav lef erry." Naruto mumbled tiredly under his breath. Until that water his skin he was dead to the world.

After he was finished his shower, stepping out, he couldn't help but notice the scent Kakashi always left behind after his time in the bathroom. It always smelled like cinnamon and spice. It sometimes made Naruto stomach flip. Now that he was more or less fully alert, the previous night came flooding back as he tried to contemplate why Kakashi had gone so early. Heh, he must be embarrassed. Naruto snickered under his breath. Kakashi must have been so broken, that he didn't even want to face him in the morning.

Suddenly his morning was just a little bit brighter than usual. He bounced down the hall, humming happily to himself and prepared some breakfast, which was fruit since Kakashi was a health freak. He was getting damn tired of eating bananas every morning, the least Kakashi could do was get a few pears, he loved pears. Not that Kakashi cared. Which was why there were no pears in the house.

Wherever Kakashi went so early, he was sure it involved some alone time with his little book, so Naruto knew that this day was going to be like the rest. Kakashi would be late, he and maybe Sakura if she got over her humiliation, would accuse him of being late, Kakashi would make up some sad excuse as to why he was late, he would be called a liar and the mission would begin. Naruto sighed and headed out the door, checking on his weapons, clothes and underwear, and fruit, which was all that was in the house.

* * *

At the Memorial Stone, Kakashi kneeled down so that he was at eye level with the names he would be spending the next three hours talking to.

"I came here earlier than my usual time, but don't be shocked, I just needed someone to talk to as soon as possible. Life's been good, as far as that goes and I suppose you'll want to hear about him. He's like you, Minato-sensei. Very much."

The Stone was silent. But that was alright; he could picture their reactions in his head.

"He thinks he's won our little game. But he's like you sensei; he takes me too lightly. I won't hurt him sensei. You know I…."

Kakashi stood and turned around, his back facing the stone. He would choose his next words wisely. "You know I care about him. He is your son. If he were anybody else….."

For the next three hours, Kakashi, Obito, Yondaime and Rin, occasionally, conversed about everything going in his life. Most of the conversation was about Naruto.

* * *

"Well, I wouldn't have snapped at you if you weren't being such a loser. Trust me, otherwise I wouldn't have wasted my breath."

Sasuke was being a bastard. As usual. He wasn't the first person on the bridge like he usually was. Sakura was there, waiting for the chance to speak to him in private. "Sasuke," She started, trying not to fidget nervously. She had somehow gathered up enough courage to apologize to the Uchiha and try her hand at getting him to go somewhere with her before their sensei and Naruto arrive. Sasuke didn't even let her finish before he said 'no' sharply. She wanted to know why he was being so mean to her, when she loved him the way she did. Why did he snap at her when she was only trying to be nice?

Sakura nodded numbly. What did a girl have to do to be worthy? Geez, she had tried everything she could think of. She even offered to help him restore his clan. It took her a month to get over his reply, which was something along the lines of, "Not if you were the last kunoichi on earth." Among other heart-ripping insults.

She sighed as she realized that she should have given up while she was ahead, when Sasuke was gone.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chaaan! Sasuke-bastard!" Ugh, she cringed. Now her morning was completely shot.

"Keep it down, dead last, we can hear you. And it isn't a particularly good morning."

Sakura felt something in her die. He said more to Naruto that he did to her. Sasuke never did that.

"Well it's a good morning for me!" Naruto turned to Sakura and she knew he was going to ask her if she was okay.

"Are you al—

"Fine."

He shrugged and went to lean on the rail next to Sasuke on the rail. If Sakura was going to be that way, then fine. It wasn't like he still liked her. Some people just didn't know how to move on.

'_Since when did I move on?' _

Since he moved in with Kakashi Hatake. Well that was understandable. It was Kakashi Hatake. Sakura didn't hold a place in his heart anymore. But neither did Kakashi.

Did he?

Nah, Naruto dismissed. He just thought his sensei was attractive, that didn't mean anything. It didn't have to. He liked Kakashi well enough, but the man left quite a lot to be desired. First off he was a pervert, second he was lazy, third he was emotionally detached, as far as Naruto knew, fourth he was heartless and vengeful….the list would have gone on if Sasuke hadn't been elbowing him in the ribs trying to get his attention.

"Dobe, look."

Naruto looked up and gasped. Kakashi was standing there waving at them with that guilty smile in his eye. Either Naruto had been thinking for three hours or their sensei was earlier than usual.

"You're early!" He and Sakura accused, never mind that it was what they wanted.

"The road of life was clear today."

"Liar!"

Kakashi's eye narrowed his way. "I didn't think _you _would mind, seeing as your mind was obviously preoccupied with something else.'

"Yeah Naruto, Sasuke's been calling your name for almost two whole minutes and you didn't hear him. Whatever you were thinking about sure must have been interesting." Sakura added.

"Was it?"

"Was what?"

Kakashi sighed. "Was it interesting?"

"That's none of your business." Naruto retorted emphatically.

"Then it must have been. Anyway, here are the scrolls. Read them carefully. If you even so much as skim on any detail, you will lose the benefit of being prepared for this mission. I hope you all brought clean underwear." He added the last comment to piss them, or at least Sakura and Naruto off.

Sakura kept her unkind words to herself, Sasuke stayed silent, and Naruto resisted the urge to fling a kunai at Kakashi.

* * *

Sasuke had claimed to be going to bed early, but really, he wanted to get away from the female's sad emerald eyes. Why did she always have to give him that look, like he ripped her soul out or something? Retreating into his own tent, he skipped dinner and ignored the rest of them.

Naruto sat by the fire, wishing that he had a bowl of Instant Ramen boiling, but all he had was a banana. He and Kakashi hadn't said a word to each other since they left the village and Naruto believed that Kakashi was still mortified by yesterday, though he clearly went out of his way not to show it.

Or he was up to something. Kakashi would definitely try something sooner rather than later and if Naruto was going to get through the mission in one piece, he would have to be extra careful of the Jounin. He wished he knew what it was because as unpredictable as the man was, it could have been _anything. _Only, it would have benefited him to know.

Not that he was particularly interested in it. No, and definitely not that he was anticipating it with the sort of anticipation one feels when something exciting is coming their way. He really could have done without the fluttery, hot feeling in his lower extremities at the possibility that the Jounin was plotting something. His stomach felt like he swallowed one of Sasuke's fireballs, but his mind was oddly clear as day and far more relaxed than the rest of him.

Kakashi sat cross-legged on the ground and pretended to be engrossed in his latest book, but really he was giving his blonde housemate a mischievous look, watching the boy think about, no doubt, what happened in the kitchen the previous night. Of course, the boy had every right to think about it, because it mattered. Whether or not Naruto was going to enjoy these days out in the woods with him mattered. Not to him, but to Naruto.

He hadn't figured out how he was going to go about it, but when he did, it would be good. It would be funny and it would certainly be inappropriate. If Naruto wanted to play like that, then he chose the wrong person to play with. Now that it was obvious that the boy wasn't afraid of him anymore, he could move on to the next level with him. He would play with Naruto until something gave, because something had to give. And it wouldn't be him. He would worry later about what the boy would do, for now he was going to work on Naruto's reactions and behavior. If there was even an inkling that Naruto enjoyed their games more than he let on, then there was a chance.

He had faced it a few days ago. He wanted the brat. And if all went well, he would have him. Not confident in his looks so much as he was in his intellect, Kakashi surmised that he could either talk the boy into bed, or trick him. The latter was seemingly impossible, but Naruto had shown himself to be quite dull at times.

At this last thought, Kakashi decided that he wouldn't wait until they returned to Konoha before he exacted his revenge. While Sakura slinked off to bed, Naruto figured that he best be getting along to sleep himself, even if it was unnaturally early.

"Naruto."

Kakashi's voice almost made him turn to stone. Craning his neck ever so carefully, Naruto didn't look at him, but merely gave the impression that he was listening.

The tents were several centimeters away, just far enough so that the other two couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"Have you had enough time to get used to it?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, vaguely away of the tone in Kakashi's voice. "Get used to what?"

Kakashi looked down at his book, but did not answer him. Naruto would figure it out soon enough.

Naruto blinked several times, wondering what the heck Kakashi was talking about. Last night's words came slithering back, unwelcome but enlightening.

"Oh…hey!"

Kakashi's reaction was misleading. He looked like he wasn't even paying attention even as his next words left his cloth-covered mouth. "I'm ready when you are."

Naruto suppressed the urge to let a 'gah' sound escape from him. He just knew Kakashi was going to say something messed up to him, and he was waiting for it, but that didn't mean he wasn't shocked nonetheless. His mind raced to come up with a retort, but when he finally did, he wasn't sure he should say it.

Unfortunately, his mouth betrayed him. "You just say when, pervert." Of course, he seriously didn't expect Kakashi do _anything_ of the sort. But he was not going to lose, no matter what. He wasn't the type to give up, ever. Kakashi Hatake may have been better at him in everything else, but he would be taking this title home this time.

"When."

"You fucking---

"You said all I had to say was 'when', I don't see why you're getting all bent out of shape abou---

"You know what I meant!" Naruto hissed quietly. He was on the verge of yelling in frustration, but GOD forbid the other two heard…

"That eager, huh?"

Naruto's hands twitched in midair, as if they were just itching to strangle something; he even reached toward his sensei, as if to go through with the killing, but restrained himself. Unfortunately, violence did not solve everything. He fleetingly wondered what the man would say if Naruto told him to go fuck himself. Probably something tastelessly inappropriate.

"I'm going to bed." He said at last, completely ignoring Kakashi's comment. It didn't mean he was forfeiting, just that he was not going to give the asshole the satisfaction.

As he got up, so did Kakashi. He stared. What the hell?

"I didn't bring a tent. Don't have one. Was hoping to share with you."

Naruto didn't hesitate to redirect him to Sasuke's tent.

"Fine." Kakashi agreed. He knew full well Sasuke would adamantly refuse. Sakura would flat out punch him, but he would try anyway, just to spite Naruto.

Going over to Sasuke's tent, he kneeled down and before he could shake the boy's shoulder, a kunai was being pressed into his check. Luckily for him the brat had control.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Sasuke's monotone voice rasped. Seeing that it was just Kakashi, he pressed the kunai deeper, glaring at the man with a look that told him that he should just walk away. Kakashi however, could have turned that kunai against the boy in a heartbeat, but chose to ask what he came to ask and avoid confrontation.

"I didn't bring a tent, can I sleep here?" He asked innocently, putting on his most pleading look, knowing it wouldn't work.

"Fuck no, get out Kakashi."

"Okay, thank you." Kakashi smiled happily, like he hadn't just been told off by the Uchiha heir.

Dipping out of the tent, he found that Naruto had already went to his and hummed. Then smirked purposefully.

Naruto was hastily changing his clothes and had barely gotten his covers on in time when Kakashi just about ripped his tent open.

"Looks like I'll be sleeping here." He said cheerfully, waving at him.

"Hey, hell no, go sleep outside!" Naruto pointed back out of his tent angrily more at the look on Kakashi's face than that he was there at all. The bastard was _smiling_ with that damn smug tilt of his head that Naruto hated so much.

"But Naruto, I didn't say that to you."

Naruto's arm twitched. He hated Kakashi sometimes.

"Fine! But don't say a word to me, or I'll Rasengan your ass." He threatened.

"Maa, so mean Naruto."

Naruto grunted and flipped over so that his back was facing Kakashi. He desperately hoped that sleep would find in the next minute, so he didn't have to hear the rustling of Kakashi changing his clothes. Like he was doing right then.

'_Damn it!' _He cursed as he heard the zipper to Kakashi's vest slide down and the sound it made as it hit the ground. Suddenly he was aware of his own state of undress and mentally cursed himself for not bringing some longer pants to wear. Then again, he didn't think he would be sleeping with Kakashi.

'_That sounded so wrong.' _

And he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to turn around and get a look at the Jounin stripping. Did he sleep with his mask on? Because Kakashi always made sure he went to sleep after everyone else, Naruto had never gotten the chance to see if he did indeed sleep with his face covered. He most likely wouldn't take the mask off because Naruto was right there.

After another minute, the rustling stopped and all was silent. Naruto laid there stiffly, not trusting not himself to move as Kakashi slid into the sleeping bag next to him. Although there was ample space between them, he could help but feel a bit trapped.

Silence ensued for a long time before Kakashi moved to lie on his back. Naruto closed his eyes, still tense and wary, but hopeful of getting sleep sometime soon.

"You told me to say when and I did." Was what broke the silence. Naruto stiffened further, hoping against hope he wasn't going to start that now.

"Not now Kakashi, I'm trying to sleep.' He muttered, trying to sound tired.

Kakashi saw the perfect opportunity to get his revenge at that moment. Naruto really should have thought before he spoke. Oh well.

Reaching down none to quietly, he slipped his hand into his navy blue briefs and looked at Naruto, who looked like he was having a difficult time relaxing. If the boy bothered to turn around, he would have noticed that his sensei had a hand in his underwear, slowly stroking himself right next to him.

Naruto could have sworn he heard some sort of movement behind him, and he really wanted to ignore it but the sound was getting more frequent and he had no choice but to focus on it out of curiosity. What was Kakashi doing back there?

After a few long minutes, he got his answer in the form of a broken sigh from Kakashi. That was a sound he never heard Kakashi make. His curiosity started itching at him to turn around and see what was going on, but his body was too tense to make the move. Another sigh from Kakashi, this time it was louder and more pronounced, and then he was sure.

When Kakashi said 'when'….he wasn't kidding.

Oh god….he couldn't be….

Suddenly his mouth was very dry and his eyes were wide open now, unable to go back to the hopeful bliss of trying to sleep. No, maybe Kakashi was just trying to bait him into looking, just so that he could say he did. Naruto wasn't going to fall for it.

It wasn't until Kakashi actually _moaned _behind him that he started to doubt his certainty.

'_Help me….' _He pleaded to himself.

Damn it, Kakashi had to be playing with him because he was NOT jerking off back there.

No. He wasn't.

The shuffling noises were beginning to change into slapping sounds, a more direct indication of the action. Naruto had to be convinced that Kakashi was messing with him. Otherwise, he may have been cowed into turning around….

"Have you gotten used to it yet, Naruto?" Kakashi breathed his name and Naruto thought that he just might have been sent to hell for something he did in the past.

His mouth was too dry to respond, but damn it his mind was in control so it somehow managed to make all of the blood in his head circulate downward, to the hot area between his legs and he groaned, so glad that he hadn't turned around.

Kakashi was jerking off. Right next to him. In the same tent. And it was because all Naruto couldn't keep his big mouth shut.

_'Shit!'_

* * *

TBC…..

Yes I know, quite evil to stop there, but I couldn't help myself. My best friend and I plotted just how I would do it. Mwahahahaha! No, I'm sorry. Anyway, I'll be getting along to the next chapter soon as you guys feed me some lovely reviews to fuel the inspiration, yes. The next chapter MAY be filled with some limey goodness, but only if my evil streak has passed. Who knows what could happen. Though I've heard reviews help that streak go away…..nah, kidding.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer:…..I still don't own Naruto….but I do in my mind1 So ha! Take that Mishimoto! (is that the creator's last name? don't remember….)

Hoya! I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting. Sorry for the lack of 'action', but what's a good story without a little suspense?

Enjoy.

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke had not come out of their tents since they went in and it was a damn good thing because the last thing Naruto wanted either of them to see was Kakashi enjoying his own hand in _his _tent.

Had this been an insult, he could have easily retorted back with something just as bad, but no, this was….

Kakashi was….

Now it was impossible not to look.

Quietly, like Kakashi wouldn't see him, Naruto flipped to his other side confirm his suspicions that Kakashi was just being an ass and fucking around with his mind.

Kakashi _eyes _were already on him when he turned around, no doubt just waiting to catch him watching. Naruto ignored that and cautiously rolled his eyes down Kakashi shirtless torso and gulped audibly. Either he was acting like he was playing with himself or he was, Naruto couldn't tell with the blanket covering him.

He didn't know what to say.

As for if he was used to it yet. Hell no! He'd never seen another guy masturbate before, what the hell did Kakashi expect him to say?!

He silently watched Kakashi's left hand move faster under the blanket---the same blanket they shared---and a part of him hoped that he was being tricked. Another part of him, which he was amazed to find existed, really wanted to _see. _If Kakashi was fisting himself under that blanket, then Naruto knew he wasn't going to let him live it down for watching. But he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Licking his lips unconsciously, he glanced up at Kakashi's face, to see that his eyes were now closed.

He wanted to say something, really he did, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out and it wouldn't close. That tightening sensation in his groin intensified. He was aware that he was fully hard, but Kakashi didn't have to be. He wanted to ask, if Kakashi really was doing what it looked and sounded like he was doing, but he didn't want to be teased for wanting to know.

Damn how he wanted to imitate his sensei. He would have gotten up to go deep into the woods to do just that but he couldn't move even if he dreamed of it.

Kakashi moaned a bit louder, making Naruto's attention go back to his midsection. Kakashi's hips were pushed up slightly, into his stroking hand. Naruto thought he was sure of it now. But why would Kakashi let him see? Didn't he care that there was a possibility he may have been disgusted? Even though he wasn't. What did Kakashi expect him to do?

As opposed to what he _wanted _to do.

Would Kakashi….go all the way?

Kakashi panted wordlessly, pumping harder and faster, knowing that Naruto was watching. And he could sense the way the boy's chakra was pulsing, erratically and odd, but he could tell what the boy was feeling. And his chance presented itself. Now all he had to do was figure out if now was the time to take it.

Naruto was on the verge of snapping.

"Fuck, Kakashi-sensei, w-what are you….are you really…" He trailed off, his mouth too dry to continue.

"You s-should really be careful of what you say Naruto." Damn, he sounded so hot moaning and breathing like that, it made Naruto _ache so bad_. There was no denying it, he wanted Kakashi, damn how he wanted that bastard. All the time they had spent bickering about things, all the sexual innuendo, and now this. Naruto's own breathing sped up substantially and he was sure Kakashi could tell but at that point, he damn well didn't care.

If Kakashi was going to finish himself off, Naruto would keep his mouth shut to see it because after that, there was no way he could think of anything to get Kakashi back with for this torture. And it was torture, having to watch someone so hot doing that to himself; it was torture in its cruelest form. Naruto didn't mind so much. At the very least he could live with being criticized.

"I hate you," He hissed.

"You want me." Kakashi huffed, closing his eyes tighter as the sweat dripped down his brow and soaked into his mask. He would play with Naruto a bit more, then he would stop and mercilessly tease him on his reaction. Yes, revenge was looking quite sweet right then.

"You've got to be kidding. I don't want you." Naruto lied.

"Hn."

Kakashi tilted his head back, shifted his hips and arched off the ground, moaning louder this time, Naruto couldn't help but turn over on his stomach, just to get the little bit of relief the hard covered ground provided. He tried hard not to grind his hips down, tried so hard not to let Kakashi see the effect his stupid revenge was having on him, but his dick had other plans.

He felt the wetness down there, like he was _leaking _and knew that the longer Kakashi continued, the harder it would be to starve off an embarrassing orgasm. Why did Kakashi have to be so damn arousing, why he couldn't he be repulsed by his sensei jacking off next to him like a normal boy, why couldn't he stop looking?

"I swear I fucking hate you." He snarled again. He wondered if it was obvious that he was lying.

And then that hand stopped moving, and those hips settled back down to the ground, and those beautiful mismatched eye opened and slanted to him.

Naruto wanted to tell him not to stop, but when he opened his mouth to say, his bottom lip felt like it was on fire. In his voyeuristic haze, he hadn't noticed that he was biting himself, and now his inhumanly sharp teeth had sunk right through the tender flesh of his lip. He felt the blood trickle down his chin, but he didn't have the chance to care. Kakashi sat up abruptly, like he wasn't worn in the least and put his ungloved hand on top of the blanket now, and Naruto stared at that hand, wondering what it would feel like wrapped around his own cock.

He hadn't even realized he was glaring, and growling, until Kakashi pointedly reminded him that he should watch his teeth, which he grinding together painfully in response.

He had been struck speechless _again. _Apparently, Kakashi didn't have any problem jerking off in front of another guy, and he even had been so bold to ask if Naruto was used to it. He wasn't then, but she sure _could _get used to it. Under the assumption that Kakashi was baiting him, and that there was a 1 possibility that he wasn't, then Naruto was in trouble. Not only had he _not _tried to leave, stop Kakashi, or cover his eyes, he had unconsciously given off the impression that he _wanted _the Jounin. Or was Kakashi just luring him into some sort of trap? If he was, Naruto was afraid that he fell right in, hook line and sinker.

"I could continue, if you'd like the watch some more."

Naruto sucked his teeth and shook his head. At that point, whatever he said was going to get Kakashi on his case, so he felt it better not to say anything at all. Kakashi started to pull the blanket off of his lower half.

"Hey! NO! You keep that on, you bastard. Don't you fucking dare!" He turned around as fast as he could and snatched his portion of the blankets over his blonde head. He didn't want to see Kakashi for the rest of the night.

….

…….

"Is something wrong, Naruto? Are you…._disappointed?_"

The boy stiffened.

"Don't be. Now I'll be going to sleep, unless you have _something else in mind._" He chided teasingly, in the same tone Naruto himself used the night before.

Naruto clutched his blanket tighter and tried desperately to ignore the annoying copy ninja. He wasn't going to sell himself out over some stupid ploy. Even so, he had underestimated the lengths Kakashi would go the beat him at his own game. He made the mistake of not taking the man seriously enough, and he was regretting it now with every fiber of his being.

"It's alright if you aren't used to seeing another guy masturbate. I'm not used to another guy seeing me masturbate either."

"Shut up!" Now he was agitated. Kakashi was never going to stop bothering him now. Geez, didn't that asshole know that it was too damn late to be gloating? He won, unfair and square, but he won. Naruto's silence was admittance of his defeat. What the hell more did that asshole want from him?

He wasn't sure he should even spend the night in the same tent with the perv, but damn it if anything at all he was going to keep his cool and stay. Kakashi may have gotten the best of him, but he didn't kill Naruto's pride, and that was all that mattered.

"Fine. Goodnight." Kakashi said.

Naruto's heart stopped beating. Was it him, or did Kakashi's voice sound a heck of a lot less muffled than before? It sounded clear as day, almost as if----

Naruto craned his neck around to see if he was imagining things. Holy fuck.

The bastard! What the hell was he trying to do, give him a heart attack?! Did he _have _to take the damn mask off?! And did he _have _to be sitting up, watching him? What was worst, was that he got a unobstructed view of Naruto's reaction, which was something along the lines of, open mouth, wide eyes, and an ohmygod look on his face.

Why couldn't Kakashi have been ugly?

He sucked in a few shaky breaths, his hands trembling. There was no way. No way a person could be so handsome. Now Naruto could see why Kakashi always had the stupid mask on. Pale, flawless skin greeted his awe-widened eyes. A straight nose, full, but masculine lips below and a perfect frame of a jaw, all combined with those eyes and Kakashi was walking, breathing perfection.

Who the hell knew Kakashi had such a sexy smirk?

"What the fuck? Why'd you take it off?!"

"So you could see my face, why else?"

"Yeah but, yesterday…yesterday I got in trouble for it. What's so different about now?"

"I just wanted to stun you. So what do you think?"

Why did he care what Naruto thought? What did he expect to happen now that the mask was off? He had obviously been stunned by the unveiling, so what the hell was the point of saying anything?

Naruto shook his head no, indicating that he didn't want to answer that question. The look on Kakashi's face got frustratingly more smug than it had been a few seconds ago. He waited patiently for the blonde to turn around again and stop gaping at him and save himself some more embarrassment. Naruto continued to stare.

Damn it, Kakashi damn well knew what he thought! His face said more than his mouth ever would and now he was pretty much screwed for the rest of the night.

"Naruto, I never took you for the type to be turn on by the sight of another man." Kakashi said amusedly.

"Wait a damn minute, who the hell said I was turned on?!" He was seriously contemplating going out to the woods once he got his bearings back.

Kakashi shrugged. "Your chakra matches that of an aroused person. I'm very good at reading chakra. And yours is going out of control."

'_Damn it!' _

Right then would have been a really good time for him to go one step farther with the boy. All the signs had been given, all that was left to do was use them to his advantage.

"I don't let just anybody see my face." He explained slowly, like Naruto wouldn't understand.

"That's o-damn-kay, I didn't ask to see!" Naruto argued, finally finding the power to look away.

"You're not that good looking."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then why don't you get up and show me."

"Huh?" Naruto didn't get it. Stand up? Why? If he stood up, Kakashi would see---

Ah crap.

"I don't have to prove shit, Kakashi." Was all he dared to say. Anything else would have given him away.

"Embarrassed?"

'_Yeah'_ Naruto thought solemnly.

"It's not like you're trying to seduce me." He mumbled into his pillow.

"Actually I am."

Naruto sucked his teeth again. Kakashi would stop at nothing to ruin his life. His personal space was suddenly feeling a whole lot smaller now, almost like he was suffering from a horrible bout of claustrophobia. Closing his eyes, he moved as far away from Kakashi as he could without ending up outside, but unbeknownst to him, he was taking the blanket with him.

"If you wanted to see me in me in my underwear so bad, you could have just asked. No need to be so forward."

Naruto turned to glare death at him. "What the heck are you---

God, not again. He couldn't help but agree with Sasuke at the moment. He truly was an idiot. When someone implies that they are half-naked, chances are, they're half-naked. And he, like the idiot he was, turned and looked right at Kakashi, lying there, in his nether coverings, and…gulp…nothing else.

There was a warm wet feeling in the back of his throat trailing up his nasal passage and through his nose, tickling his nostrils uncomfortably. He quickly turned his back to Kakashi, sure that any second his nose was going to start dripping blood from the pressure in his head.

"Well, fine then, I'll just get some blanket for myself." And then Kakashi was behind the shaking brat, snatching at the covers and pulling them over his semi-nude form. For the added benefit of his amusement, he scooted closer to the boy, making sure to let his leg brush up Naruto's calf.

Naruto jumped up and was on his feet in a flash. "Goddamn it, you stop that! You pervert!" Too bad he hadn't realized that he was still in his tight blue briefs, which coincidentally were the same color as Kakashi's. Kakashi eyes swept down the boys lean tight little frame and licked his lips. "Very nice." He complimented, making Naruto's face burn from embarrassment.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not falling for that shit, so you can just forget it, you sick bastard!"

"Not falling for what?" Kakashi questioned innocently, even though the look on his face was anything but.

"This isn't over Kakashi!" Naruto grabbed his clothes and stormed out of the tent, red, flustered, and unnaturally hot.

"I should hope so." Kakashi smiled when he was gone.

TBC….

* * *

Yes, I know, another short one, but I thought I'd slow down a bit and let the goodness sink in. Oh that and I'm having trouble thinking about what I'm going to write next, but have no fear! I'm sure I'll think of something SOON. Thanks a million to all that reviewed so far, I appreciate it so much. And to the people that called me evil….can you really blame me? Mwahahaha! Kidding, lol. Oh and don't worry, my evil streak has abated…for now. Joking. 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me. Never me…..

A/N: I know this chapter isn't very long, for reasons that I'm trying not to overwhelm you guys with the scent/plot change. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

* * *

He promised himself he would never run away from a confrontation with Kakashi ever again, but if he didn't run right then, he was going to end up saying or doing something he was going regret very soon. Naruto would not lose to him, _if _this had been the game he was used to. Teasing he could handle, inappropriate insults were now a part of everyday life. But sexual exploitation was nothing he wanted to experience. Having just barely gotten through the night, he had already knew it was a bad idea go any farther with it.

Kakashi had _masturbated right before his very eyes! _What in the world could he do to combat that?!

And where the hell was he going to sleep?!

Naruto groaned to himself. What was he supposed to do? Sure he was resilient, but he honestly didn't think there was a soul on earth that could bounce back from _that. _Seriously, who watches the object of the lust masturbate and just forgets about it the next day? Most people either jump right into bed with said object of lust or….no, that was about it. Obviously, he couldn't do that. Kakashi didn't want him. Everything they talked about was more or less insulting or perverted; nothing was ever serious.

Seduce him? Kakashi couldn't be less serious than he was when he said that.

Naruto supposed he would have fared a lot better if he weren't such an idiot. He was the one who initiated it, so naturally he had to deal with the consequences. He couldn't even blame Kakashi for what he did. In so many words, Naruto practically dared him to do it.

Of course, he hadn't expected him to actually do it. It was too bad he underestimated Kakashi or he could have saved himself from a cold night of sleeping outside and an embarrassing hard-on, among other things. And that face. It was more than enough that he saw the guy jerk off, but he had to be cursed with that face. Now it would haunt his dreams, he knew he would not go to sleep for a long time without thinking about what happened in the tent.

He wondered if Kakashi was feeling pleased with himself.

_'I'll bet he is'_ No doubt about it.

But the most horrifyingly embarrassing thing of all was how close Naruto was to climbing on top of Kakashi and sticking his tongue down the horny bastard's throat. So close, he could taste Kakashi's arousal in the air and damn he would have given almost anything to touch him at that moment. Luckily, his pride stepped in and saved him from himself, which he had mixed feelings about. Part of him, a big part, wanted to kick his pride to curb and lock lips with the beautiful fucker and another part of him wanted to be angry and reserved and _not so damn horny_.

Still, he had to be mature about it. Obviously Kakashi thought he was adult enough to handle some harmless J/O, so maybe he was blowing things too far out of context. Kakashi was a sleazy perv, he probably didn't care who it was he was groping himself in front of, so long as he got off on it. ………

Which would have been a lovely sight to see. Though he really was glad Kakashi stopped when he did, it would have been way too hot if he came from stroking himself. Had Naruto beared witness to such raw sexuality, he was certain he would have fainted dead away.

But his troubles were far from over. They would be out on the mission for a week, maybe longer depending on how things went. He was either going to freeze to death from sleeping outside because Hatake-jerk didn't bring his own damn tent (which Naruto was sure he had forgot on purpose), or he was going to have to talk Sasuke into letting him share his.

Suddenly a not-so-subtle rustling behind him and he stilled, trying not to let Kakashi see him. Closer he came, until he was right upon Naruto. Naruto, not wanting to deal with the Jounin's crap right then opened his mouth to give Kakashi a piece of his mind but Kakashi's hands were quicker than his mouth and soon he had one of them around Naruto's neck, and the other pressing a kunai into his throbbing pulse.

Kakashi smelled different for some reason, but Naruto really just wanted to get away from him before he snapped. Kicking backward to make the older ninja falter, he was surprised when his foot connected but Kakashi's leg did not move. The kunai against his neck was pressed deeper, so deep the sharp tip pierced the cool skin of his neck and a drop of his precious life fluid slid down his collarbone.

"Hey what the hell are you doing, you perv?! Are you trying to kill me?!" He struggled in the powerful grip, wiggling and kicking and when Kakashi pulled his head back with the other hand, it was then that he realized. He had been so absorbed in Kakashi and what happened in the tent, that when he heard the noise behind him he automatically figured that it was his teammate behind him. But this person wasn't Kakashi.

He started to glance back at his captor. "What the hell---

A hand was slapped over his eyes and a swift chop delivered to his neck and Naruto slid to the ground, unconscious. The man behind him bent over to haul the boy over his shoulder and take off into the trees, the other three totally oblivious to what happened to their blonde teammate.

* * *

Kakashi lay on his back, staring off into space inside of Naruto's tent. He knew he had mortally embarrassed the kid, but the reaction had been worth it. It was funny how the brat protested that he was not aroused, stubbornly as usual, but didn't seem to care that was literally humping the floor while he did. Things were just getting more and more interesting.

Taking of his mask was the first step he wanted to take with Naruto, to show the boy that he liked him and trusted him enough to share his most private possession, his face. He didn't think it was a big deal, his face was like any other face, but the look on Naruto's face made it look as if he had seen a ghost, or something shocking. If his chakra was anything to go by, the younger ninja was reacting to something he liked.

So now he knew that Naruto found him attractive. A lot of people did, but not a lot of people saw his face. Most people were convinced that his power made him attractive, despite that he literally only had one eye and the skin of his wrists and fingers showing. Naruto had seen more than most ninja ever lived to see. If someone perchance saw his face, the next minute they were dead. Not even Kakashi's previous sex partners had ever been graced with the privilege. He would tie them up or down, and turn out the lights then commence to screw them silly so that when they woke up the morning, they would be thinking about how they were going to get out of bed to go to work rather than what his face looked like.

He liked the blonde hellion flustered and horny, it made Kakashi want to jump his bones. He refrained from doing so pretty much because they were not alone. And they were on a mission. Kakashi had already lowered his guard when he shouldn't have to get a rise out of the boy, but he was a Jounin, and he had the Sharingan exposed when he took his mask and hitae-ate off, so he would sense someone coming from several feet away.

Anyway, speaking of Naruto, where did he go? Nobody knew about Kakashi that he disliked cold whether with a passion, so he couldn't imagine why Naruto would be outside when it was so frigid. He could catch cold. Well, he wasn't the boy's mommy, if Naruto chose to sit outside freezing his cute tan little ass off, then that was his decision. If he wanted to be cold when there was a nice cozy warm tent and an even warmer Jounin waiting for him, then that was just too bad. (A/N: I sure wouldn't walk out on that!)

Rolling over on his side, Kakashi lifted his hitae-ate to his forehead, as he always did before he went to bed for easy access to his Sharingan, and closed his eyes. Naruto was probably missing out on some good sleep out there.

* * *

Morning rolled around and Kakashi was the first one awake. Or so he thought. Sasuke was lurking around the trees, looking around as if he had lost something with a concentrated scowl on his face.

"Kakashi, where the hell is Naruto? I've been awake for almost a half and hour, and I can't find him."

Kakashi was clam at first, maybe Naruto went for a walk to clear his head, or maybe he was getting his revenge on him. A ninja must never consider the worst case scenario in a situation like that because anxiety could cut a ninja's reaction time almost in half and that could lead to unnecessary failure, death, or worse.

"Don't worry about him Sasuke, I'm sure he's fine. Go wake up Sakura and get your things ready. He'll probably be back when we're finished."

The look on Sasuke's face wasn't reassured, relieved, or hopeful. He knew something was wrong, he could feel it. His Sharingan twitched behind his black irises, but he walked off anyway to wake up his other teammate and gather his things.

Another fifteen minutes had passed and Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were all ready to go. Naruto had yet to show up.

"Kakashi-sensei, maybe you should go find him. He's probably asleep somewhere being stupid as usual." Sakura suggested.

"Why would he be out here at this time, at all, in the first place? Naruto is stupid, but he isn't careless. He should be here by now. I hate to say it, but I think something has happened to him."

Kakashi watched Sasuke, his eye narrow with boredom because he didn't want the boy to see that he was getting worried. It was not a habit of Naruto's to come late, ever, but he should have trusted him to be back at a reasonable time. Sakura could have been right, but the Uchiha had more instinct, and Kakashi couldn't argue with that.

"Alright, I'll search for him, you two stay here in case he comes back." Biting a small puncture into the thumb of his left hand, he wiped the blood on a summoning tattoo on the back of his right.

With a quiet poof, a small brown dog with a mature frown on its face appear, looking unhappy yet obedient.

"What is it Kakashi?"

"Pakkun, I need you to find Naruto." Kakashi ordered and the dog took off into the woods, sniffing and hoping from tree to tree. Kakashi followed, going the opposite way to look, taking his hitae-ate off of his left eye. If he was going to search for Naruto, he was going to have to be thorough and quick because they didn't have time to spare.

Now he wasn't thinking that Naruto was playing any sort of trick. Now he was becoming slightly worried. Now he was starting to feel guilty. If anything happened to him, Kakashi had nobody to blame but himself. Naruto had left the tent in a rage, wanting to get away from him and went outside. Kakashi knew he wasn't going to come back into the tent, but he suspected that the boy would at least stay near the fire. There was a possibility that Naruto had simply left, of his own volition, but that would also have been the fault of Kakashi.

But in the shinobi world, there were very little coincidences.

"Kakashi." Pakkun was alongside him and he stopped, giving the dog a simple order, "Tell me."

"I didn't find him, but I found something else. Around the area 466 meters west, there's an almost untraceable smell of blood, but I barely identified it as Uzumaki Naruto's. After that…the scent completely disappears."

Kakashi eyes darkened and his Sharingan swirled. "You can go now." The dog poofed away, leaving him alone in the area.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He whirled around to see Sakura and Sasuke catching up to him, both of them looking worried. "Did you find him?"

Kakashi nodded. Sakura landed on the branch right next to him and looked him in the eye. "Sensei, you and Naruto shared a tent, right? I mean, I didn't see two of them, and Naruto's things were still there, meaning there was only one to begin with. So you mean you didn't hear him leave?"

Damn the Haruno girl and her intelligent curiosity which was sometimes more accurate for her own good.

He nodded again anyway, not voicing his lie, but knowing the action wouldn't be odd because they didn't know what happened last night. It was better that way to act just as confused as they were. Naruto left because of him. And now he was gone. Or worse.

Pakkun hadn't been much help at all, though he only verified what Kakashi was trying to keep the farthest possibility from his mind. He didn't have time to blame himself. He had to find Naruto, fast.

* * *

All the figure shackled from the ceiling knew was that opening his eyes wasn't the smartest thing to do with a headache that felt like he'd been hit with a house. He shut them gently, not wanting to aggravate the splitting pain throbbing from the back of his neck and spreading around his eyes. The room wasn't dark. It was actually well lit and active. He wasn't alone.

"I see you're awake. I'm glad then that the drug didn't kill you. I don't want that, Naruto."

Who--? How did they---

"Hajayoaheh?" Naruto slurred uncertainly, wondering why his words were coming out bunched and sluggish. It felt like his tongue was made of steel, heavy and thick in his mouth. He couldn't form words, just garbled sound and groans to express himself. Something told him that whatever his captors drugged him with, not being able to form coherent sentences were the least of his worries.

"Well, Naruto, I know all about you. I had my subordinate bring you here, against your will I'm sorry, to do a few tests. It's---

"Grrrr…." All he could do was growl at the man. He couldn't see the owner of the voice, and he didn't know what direction it was coming from, but he could feel the purposeful intent in the air. Tests. They kidnapped him to be a guinea pig. He wanted to fight, but he couldn't move his limbs, but not because he was being held down, but because the drug also seemed to have a nerve stunting effect, also probably one of the lesser of his worries.

"We don't want to kill you. However, if complications arise during the experiment….well then I can't say I can guarantee your life."

Naruto wanted to open his eyes, but every time he did, the vicious pain in his neck reminded him that it wasn't a good idea. And it wasn't the 'hangover' kind of pain, or the pain one gets in the morning after a long, hard mission. It was the kind of pain that could immobilize even him without having to tie him down. That was how much it hurt. Closing his eyes didn't not give him very much relief, but it was better than opening them and those were the only to things he could move at all, even his lips felt loose. And it was insufferably hot in the room he was in. He was sweating rivulets and he off-handedly wondered if his captor was roasting like he was.

How the hell had let himself be taken so easily? He had more than a full minute to disable the man who knocked him out, but he didn't react the way he should have. Convinced that it was Kakashi behind him, he hadn't even registered the difference in scent and presence. He blamed himself for getting caught.

Were they looking for him? Was Kakashi worried? Did he feel just as bad for letting it happen as he did? He didn't know. The last time he checked it was about midnight before he took a walk in the woods, and it wasn't even so far that he went. Obviously it was far enough for the ninja to take him without alerting the other sleeping shinobi. They had been very careful.

How long had they been tracking him? There was no way they could have known he would be strolling around in the middle of the night through the woods unless they had been keeping lengthy tabs on him. And nobody noticed. They had been very careful.

Kakashi's hound, Pakkun would have little to nothing to go on. His kidnapped hadn't left enough evidence to follow up on, so his team would have almost no chance of finding him. It was like when Sasuke disappeared, nobody knew where he went, and thus couldn't find him. Sasuke had come to them, it was the only way they got him back.

But would anyone come to save him? Would Kakashi give up on him like he wanted to give up on Sasuke? He didn't want to give Sasuke to Orochimaru, but he hated feeling hopeless and that was exactly how he felt. Finding Sasuke was like finding a piece of string in a haystack. It was 99.9 percent impossible. The other one percent was based purely on chance. Naruto didn't think he had one.

If he didn't survive this 'test', he would never see his team again. He would die, and they wouldn't even know how, or when, why, or even where. He would die alone, and when they finished using him for their sick experiment, they would toss him away, and nobody would ever find him.

He could feel the acidic tingling in the backs of his eyes. Damn it. Damn it! He wanted to scream and curse, kick and fight, cry and sulk. But he couldn't. He couldn't scream because his throat was constricting due to being on the verge of tears. He could fight for the obvious reasons, and he couldn't cry and sulk because he wouldn't. If he died, he would die not giving the sick people who took his life the chance to see him break.

He wasn't giving up. He wouldn't die this way, not if he could help it. When the opportunity presented itself, if he could, he would immediately go for the kill and tear his captors to shreds. He would go home, and see Kakashi again, and tell the silver-haired perv that he liked him. Because life was obvious too damn short. He could die any day, right then he could die, and he'd have never gotten the chance to tell Kakashi how he felt. He liked the Jounin. A lot. Now that he thought about it, chained up to a ceiling with a murderous headache, he liked a lot of things about Kakashi.

He liked Kakashi's laugh, he liked Kakashi's smile, he liked Kakashi's body, he liked Kakashi's humor, he liked Kakashi's voice, he liked Kakashi's power, his intelligence, his eyes, his will…..

If he died, he would never experience those things again. He was going to fight. For Kakashi. He was going to fight for what he wanted, and he couldn't think of losing as an option. Despite the pain, he slid open his eyes, because he had to survey his surroundings as much as he could. He would especially not die not knowing where he was or who kidnapped him.

"Looking for something?" Naruto's eyes lethargically shifted to the source of the voice. The person was standing right out there in the open, no mask, nothing to hide his identity from his victim. Not too tall, black hair, dark blue eyes, lab coat….

Where the hell was he?

"I have no reason to hide myself, you won't remember me, and even if you did, you'd never find me. So let's get started shall we?"

Started? No! Nothing was getting 'started' without a fight! Naruto gave a low rumbling in his throat as a warning, but the man, and another person, a female, were still advancing until they were standing under him.

It had taken him a while to notice the huge tank below him. In the middle of the tank, which was empty was a VERY big spear of some sort. Directly under him pointing upward. It glinted in the light menacingly. He felt himself being lowered. He started to struggle again, fruitlessly.

"Oh yes, I should probably tell you before you get down here. This--- the female said pointing to the spear---is going to hurt."

It was then that Naruto screamed.

TBC.

Heeyyyy, this chapter came out of nowhere, but I think you guys liked it? Maybe? Yes? No? Well, tell me what you think. This story is turning out to be far longer than I originally intended. But that's a good thing, right? This might have seemed rushed, but I didn't want to elaborate too much in the first scene of the new plot change. The next chapter will be more in-depth.

Ja'ne.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And that's a shame, believe me.

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A/N: I know it's been forever, but I'm back! Yaya! But about the plot, don't worry guys, I'll get back to the smut momentarily, this situation won't take long. Don't want to bore you guys to death, but I had to put something in there to bring the two closer….or something like that. 

Sitational Hazard Chapter 13

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A sudden sharp pang stabbed through his chest right in the middle of jumping through two trees, making Kakashi stop in midair. Maneuvering his body to slip down a branch and grab on for safety, he hung there idly. 

'_What the hell was that?' _

"Kakashi-sensei, you've got to hurry, we don't have time to waste hanging around!" Sakura called to him from several feet away. Shaking his head dismissingly, he flipped back up to the highest back and with a generous burst of chakra, was back with his remaining teammates.

Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering what made him stop. She was more than concerned for Naruto's safety, even if he wasn't. So far, all they were doing was running blindly through the woods, not having a single clue where to go or who they were looking for still they headed out of the woods and the opposite way of Konoha, knowing that wherever they were going to start was going to be far from home. Who knew how far the kidnappers got? They slept through the night while Naruto was being transported, and his captors had more than ample time to gain the upper hand on them.

They had the advantage every which way she looked at it. They had Naruto, their timing made it impossible to track them, and she had to draw a complete blank on their identity. For all she knew, by then, Naruto could have been dead.

No! She shouldn't think that way! Naruto was fine! He would be alright!

_But for how long? _

God. She shook her head furiously, her mind racing a mile a minute with various _unhelpful _scenarios of what could have happened to her teammate by then. She couldn't be thinking like that, not when all they had to go on was hope.

Kakashi flew through the trees with his team, concentrated but at the same time preoccupied. He couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible had happened at the moment he felt the piercing in his chest, almost like a bad omen. What could it have been? Did…..did something happen to Naruto? Was it bad? Was he….dead?

"We need more help than this. Just the three of us aren't enough to go on a retrieval mission. We've breach the scope of the last mission and now we're too far from the village and too underhanded for one of us to go back and tell the Hokage!"

Sasuke didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. Naruto had already been targeted once by the Akatsuki, and if he was gone, it only could have been for one reason. Someone wanted the power inside of Naruto. The power of the Nine-tailed Fox. But unlike the Akatsuki, these people that took him were careful, and smart. They chose the perfect time and place to steal the blonde right out from under their noses.

At any rate someone should been more careful in letting Naruto walk out into the wilderness _in the middle of the night_.

"Kakashi."

The Jounin looked over at him, one eye narrowed so thin, he almost thought it was closed.

"Weren't you and Naruto sharing a tent?"

Kakashi would have froze if then was a good time to do so. He knew the question was coming sooner or later. And he knew what it would be followed by.

"Yes Sasuke, we were." He answered truthfully.

"Then how in the world did you let him walk out of there—

"I thought he could defend himself!" Now he was lying. He couldn't tell them. He had watched Naruto leave, and had been awake. And still Naruto disappeared. Right under his nose.

"That's bullshit and you know it! I heard Pakkun. The little trace of him that your dog found was _466 meters away!" _Sasuke was angrier than he sounded and since he was using all of his effort not to yell, he had lowered his voice to a volatile hiss at Kakashi, who wasn't even looking at him anymore.

"You do realize how far that is, don't you?"

Sakura listened to the raven-haired ninja struggling to keep his cool, which was indeed rare for Sasuke Uchiha. The boy never lost his cool. But Naruto was gone, and they all had no clue as to what happened to him, surely that would piss anyone off. But was Sasuke blaming Kakashi for Naruto's disappearance?

"Sasuke we don't know what happened to him yet. He could have been dragged that far away, he could have been running, we don't know! All we have to go on is that he was hurt when they took him so playing the blame game isn't going to help us!" She snapped, trying to sound assertive, but coming off sounding more like Sasuke.

Kakashi said nothing. He knew that Sasuke's argument greatly outweighed hers simply because he was right, and she was speculating. Any number of things could have happened when Naruto left his sight, but when it all came down to it, it was all his fault.

Sasuke glared silently at him, flaming the man alive with his dark accusing eyes. He would not let the Jounin off the hook over some stupid theory that Naruto was running for his life. That didn't excuse Kakashi. He was a Jounin, and there was no reason his own teammate should have slipped his sight like that, nor should he have let it happen. Something happened in that tent, something that pissed the blonde boy off, something that made him walk outside and seal his fate.

"What did you do?"

Kakashi winced and almost faltered in his stepping at the sudden question. The only question he couldn't answer truthfully without making things worse than they already were.

"Like Sakura said, we don't have anyt---

"What the fuck did you do?!" He stopped then, whipping around to face Kakashi with hard eyes and a deep scowl, refusing to admit the man passage until he answered the question.

"Sasuke what are doing?! We have to move if we're going to get any advantage----

"Shut up Sakura! _Kakashi._ What. The. Fuck. Did. You. DO?!"

Kakashi stopped as far away from the enraged teenager as he could, not wanting to get into an altercation with the likes of the Sharingan heir.

"What makes you think I did something?" Boy was too smart for his own good, and he knew that pretty soon, the pink-haired one would join in, wanting to know what he did to make their loud teammate a walking target for kidnapper ninja.

What would he tell them, that he tried to seduce the boy and he failed miserably, thus scaring said boy off into the woods to his demise? Sasuke glared at him expectantly. He was trash at lying, and even worse at contorting the truth, so he sighed and closed his eye and said,

"I kissed him."

Which actually wasn't too far from the truth, but definitely good enough to be a lie.

"You did WHAT?!"

Sasuke lunged at him, snatching a kunai from his pouch and hurling it full speed. Kakashi barely dodged it in time before Sasuke was in front of him, pulling back to punch his masked face in but he ducked and twisted to the side. Unfortunately, he couldn't dodge or block the knee that came up and struck him in the abdomen, knocking the air out of his lungs in a wheeze of pain.

"You dirty old pervert! What the fuck were you thinking, he was your student! How could you take advantage of him like that?!" He screamed, trying to get his leg past Kakashi's head so he could roundhouse him. Kakashi swept under and rolled behind him to pin his arms to his back effectively trapping the violent ninja with wire and a firm hold.

Sakura turned her head when Kakashi said he had kissed Naruto because she already knew that things were going to get ugly. She already knew that Sasuke would attack, and already knew that if she watched, she would have liked it more than it was right to see Sasuke's fist connect with his jaw.

How could he kiss Naruto? Naruto going missing was all Kakashi's fault. At first she tried to reason with Sasuke that that just couldn't be, that many circumstances could have contributed to his disappearance. Not Kakashi's fault. Naruto could have….he could have done anything, it could have been _his _fault. But it wasn't. And that pained her to know, that things had turned out that way. What business did Kakashi have trying to seduce Naruto, when they were on a mission no less? Didn't he know that Naruto was only fifteen, and that he was too old to be thinking of him as a toy? Didn't he know that Naruto liked girls? Didn't he _care _that Naruto might not have liked it as much as he thought?

Did he even care that Naruto was gone?

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch! When we get Naruto back, and we **will**, you're finished." Sasuke growled, and slammed the back of his head into Kakashi's masked face, making the Jounin let go of his arms and stumble back on the branch.

Holding his bleeding nose and sucking lightly on his busted lip, Kakashi glared back at him, not out of spite, but out of guilt. The glare was directed at Sasuke, but the guilt was all for him. Sasuke had every right to try to kill him and he knew it. He lied, but the truth was far more dangerous than the reality and if he had said what really happened, he was certain that he wouldn't be standing there right then.

Sasuke gasped vehemently, his right hand shaking from rage, all too eager to throw the kunai he wielded at the silver-haired freak's head. He refrained with some well-distributed willpower and commonsense. If he killed the asshole, Naruto wasn't going to come back any faster and as it was, the Jounin was a too great an asset to them to roast him with his fireball jutsu just yet.

"Summon Pakkun." He grit through clenched teeth.

Kakashi looked away from him and slipped his hand under his vest and into the space of his mask, getting his finger wet with the blood pouring from his fractured nose for the summoning jutsu.

When the dog appeared, he looked more agitated than before but asked Kakashi what he wanted with a more or less dutiful tone.

"Go through the area and any distinguishable trace of scent you find report to me immediately." Pakkun nodded, not bothered with the thick scent of blood emanating from his master enough to ask.

Sakura turned away from him and he sighed, knowing that he had just lost his teammate's trust and wondered if he had lost Naruto's as well. Wherever he was, did he hate Kakashi for it too?

Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed for the third time, but definitely not the last. He didn't know what he would do if they didn't get Naruto back, if Naruto died hating him. He wanted to think that Naruto would be alright long enough for them to find him, but in his life more than his share of experiences taught him that hope was for the stupid and reality for the brave. So he was going to brave for Naruto….and not think of him being dead.

Or terribly hurt.

Or worse.

Oh yes, brave was what he was being, not…not worried half to death.

No, he wasn't all that worried. Not really, because if he was worried, he couldn't tell because all he was feeling was guilty.

Worried? Him? He felt bad…

Okay, so he was worried underneath all the guilt, but the one feeling he couldn't shrug off was anger. How dare Sasuke tell him what the hell was right and what was wrong? Was he not a grown man that could do what he wished? Sasuke didn't know about him and Naruto, about the relationship they had, about them living together. It was better that way, because then he wouldn't have to explain himself, and he certainly didn't feel the need to do that.

He hadn't taken advantage of Naruto. What he did wasn't quite the same thing. He and Naruto had a game. So maybe he took it way too far, but if Naruto was hurt or depressed about it, he would have said something. Right? What was he thinking when he walked out there, into the woods, in the middle of the night? Was he angry? Was he upset? Was he nervous?

The better question was: How strong of a ninja did it take to kidnap a shinobi like Naruto without making a sound? Was it easy? Did they hurt him? Did they catch him off guard?

Did Naruto even see it coming? Did he try to call for help?

'_Oh god, if I don't stop this, I'm going to kill myself with worry.' _

How bad would that be as opposed to what might have happened to Naruto?

"Kakashi. There is one distinct scent that smells more recent than the others. I only know that whoever your guy is, he had been there for a long time, more than likely following you and your team. It's in no specific area, just around, so I have nowhere to lead you. They were careful, master. The news I have isn't great, but the scent is kerosene and steel, that's all I know. Wherever they took him, they intended to keep him alive. But I don't know if that's very helpful considering all the time that's passed." Pakkun looked up at him for a moment, wondering if his services were still needed.

Kakashi was staring off into space, so he decided that they were not and poofed away in a small cloud of smoke.

The dog wasn't very helpful, but Kakashi, realistic as he was, should have known that. In the end, it was more information than they had a few minutes ago, and it was a step in an unknown direction.

Kerosene and steel? What place smelled like that? A mine? A lab? A person's house? Whoever took him, didn't have the intention to initially kill him until they got whatever they wanted. And with Naruto, it could only have been one thing.

A lab was most likely where he was being held. But where? Who? With all the unanswered questions, his mind ended up in the same place it had been before and he had to once again remind himself that he was supposed to be brave. All he was doing was breaking himself down, and he wanted to be as strong as possible for Naruto. If he was weak, he would fail, simple as that.

He didn't know why Pakkun had left without being dismissed, but he knew that when he summoned the hound again, he would be agitated. For now though, they would rely on their instincts to see them through things.

"Split up!" Without further instruction, Sasuke and Sakura streaked off in two different directions and he went another. It was a bad idea to split up on a recovery mission, but this mission demanded more attention than they could provide together. They may not have had faith in him, but he trusted them to be safe and careful even though he secretly wanted to be the one to find Naruto first.

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Two hours of screaming. Two hours of tears, blood, and stabbing, and all they had accomplished was getting the container below him a third of the way full. Their intent was to drain him of every drop of his life fluid, then put him on inducers to boost chakra flow to see the effects the Kyuubi would have on his bloodless body. They would then put a five-pronged seal release on his stomach to force the chakra out of his body and into the totem statue much like the one the Akatsuki used, and from there they would proceed to use it to their own devices.

It was a simple plan really, but getting the Kyuubi's chakra to bend to their will, considering the beast still had a soul, would be difficult. They had seen the demon come out of the boy. The thing had a mind of it's own. Literally.

Their research was top-secret, but their plan was unoriginal. They weren't the only ones that wanted the fox container, but they were lucky enough to find him.

The boy wouldn't stop struggling, and it took them far more time than they had planned to get him to be still without knocking him out. The needle had to pierce a precise point; no other point of entry was going to work. It had to be dead center the double-tetragram seal, right above the child's bellybutton, and directly below his abdomen.

The draining process supposed to take no longer than 15 minutes, but due to the boy's wriggling and fighting, weak as he was _supposed _to be, it had take a little more than two hours. Between trying to keep him still, and trying to keep him from struggling himself into unconsciousness, they had to deal with several attempts at biting, and spitting. His arms and torso had to be free of constraint to keep the blood flowing steadily and leveled with his head, even with the rubber noose around his neck.

When he had finally calmed down after she stuck a thick lumbar needle into his spine to create a temporary air bubble to stop his movements, he had been muttering something unintelligible under his breath for the past fourteen minutes since.

She burst the bubble, which would have cause massive complications if she hadn't and stuck another tube down his unprepared throat. He gagged but she continued to intubate, pumping oxygen into his throat to make sure he didn't pass out. Again.

He refused to eat. They had to force feed him every half an hour so that he wasn't light headed enough to slip away, but it was difficult making him keep it down, and he had thrown up twice already, on top of the closed tank and once on her partner. He had been soundly slapped four times by the female for it.

The position he was in made it possible for him to see everything going on in the room. The female, whose name he knew but was in too much agony to remember, paced idly around the huge laboratory in a long white coat, thigh high boots, and tight shorts. He knew he had seen her somewhere before, but it was so difficult to think when he was so nauseous.

"Don't look at me at way kid. I know exactly what you're thinking and it doesn't matter. Even if you know who I am, you won't live long enough to tell anyone. Not even him. He's alive, isn't he? Well, I wish you could tell him I said hello, but….we'll be done with you soon. Smile, will you?"

The needle in his stomach had numbed his entire torso considerably, making it so much more tempting to dry-heave just to know that he could. The only movement he had done in hours was thrash his head and arms, and neither were feeling pleasant for a long time now. Whatever the reason was for them hanging him that way he wasn't sure if it was just to torture him, or if it would really make the process go faster. That was just what he needed, for them to hurry up and finish so he could be set free long enough to rip them to pieces.

The man walked back into the lab, looking a lot less haggard than he had a while ago. Trying to subdue a red-eyed brat with sharp fangs and claws wasn't easy when the goal was _not _to draw blood from any place other than the needle's entry point.

He looked like a scientist, but really, he and she weren't much more than private practitioners of medical ninjutsu, and not very experienced one's either. Of course, she brought the idea up, basing it on her stupid obsession with Itachi Uchiha. The power hungry, pretty-boy member of the Akatsuki had not been a scientist either; she could do without all the unnecessary training and get right to what they really wanted.

The power of the Nine-tailed fox. Their methods were different, but their intentions were the same.

After all, what else was Uzumaki Naruto good for anyway?

The way she saw it, she'd be doing the people of Konoha a world of good. And she would be one step closer to Sasuke. The traitor. But she loved him, and it seemed right at the time, even if the boy hanging limply from the noose and brace claimed to be a friend of his. All she really wanted to do was reform Hebi and be with her beloved Sasuke, if she couldn't have his brother. With the Akatsuki out of the way, Hebi would be the more powerful replacement, and with Sasuke Uchiha at the reigns, they would be unstoppable.

Her plans would have become reality much sooner if a ridiculously determined silver-haired shinobi hadn't gained access to the Mangekyo Sharingan and all but ripped the other members of Hebi apart and flung their limbs into another dimension.

Well, she mused. _He _may have been concerned by then.

Just as well, she didn't care. They didn't know who took their precious friend. Not yet. Not until she went after Sasuke, and brought him back to the title that was rightfully his.

The leader of Hebi.

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He had to relatively assume that whomever they were dealing with knew enough about them to plan the kidnapping perfectly. They had to have planned extensively, for hours, perhaps even days, weeks. The moment Naruto was in their range, they struck. Had they been around as long as Pakkun said? Hours? Long enough for them to see….

No! How could he be thinking of such trivial things when Naruto's life was in danger?!

He refrained from slapping himself in the head for his stupidity. Whether or not someone saw him sexually harassing the boy was something unrelated altogether, it had nothing to do with where he was and his current condition, which Kakashi hoped was breathing and stable, if he wasn't hoping for too much.

At any and all costs he had to get Naruto back, and when he did, they had to talk, seriously. With all the time they spent bickering and teasing, the last thing he ever wanted was for something like this to happen. He still wondered if Naruto blamed him for getting caught, and if he ever came back, would he be able to forgive him.

As hopeful of Naruto's forgiveness as he was, in all honesty, to himself, and to the blonde, he wouldn't forgive himself. He supposed he shouldn't have been so expectant in the first place, but out of the many things people didn't know about him, he hated to feel guilty. And that was nothing new.

The numbers of times he had let someone down or did something he knew he would regret for the rest of his life we far more plentiful than he cared to admit. He knew he had let Naruto down. His job as a shinobi required him to protect his comrades and village, but on more than one occasion he failed to do so. Naruto was gone, and despite his heart-clenching hope that he would get a clue to finding the boy, the chances were looking bleaker and slimmer with every tree he landed on.

He didn't know where he was going, hell he didn't even know where to start, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Pakkun, tell me, is there anything about the scent that you recognize, or think you might have---

"I was waiting for you to summon me. It is familiar. I don't know the person by name, or where they are from, or even if they are a shinobi or not, but it is familiar. Male and female, but mostly male. There may be two or more of them, but I remember smelling the same thing on Orochimaru, but since he's dead, we can count him out. Whoever this person is, has an inhuman smell, but human, distinctly. Human enough for me to realize, that the person has either a jutsu or a seal that allows them to physically change. Perhaps I should take more heed to the drool I found a ways back. I thought it was from some animal, as there are many in this part of the woods, but I'm going to head back and check again."

Again, it wasn't much to go on, but it was better than nothing at all.

"Go. And bring some of what you find back with you. Then go and get the other two and tell them to meet me in Konha."

Pakkun frowned, making him look a bit constipated. "The Hidden Leaf Village? Why there?"

Kakashi didn't have time to explain and waved his hand dismissively to him. "Just do it and make it quick!"

He was sweating, his chest was stinging, and his throat felt sand-dry. He knew why this was.

Since Naruto came to live with him two weeks ago, nine days into their residence with each other, he was a little startled to realize that one day when Naruto was particularly angry and tried to physically punish a tree and broke his hand, that he could feel a twinge of pain in his knuckle.

He took a minute to sit down and ask himself exactly when he had laced his chakra with the boy's. Why would he do something like that? Nonetheless, he didn't unwind it and used it to gauge all of Naruto's reactions.

He had lied in the tent that night. He only knew Naruto was uncomfortable because he could feel it. Nobody could read chakra well enough to know how another person was feeling simply because they were good shinobi. But it sounded like an intelligent lie at the time.

And he knew. Naruto was in pain at that moment. Just how much, Kakashi wasn't sure he really wanted to know, but if it was affecting him in a such a way that he was physically feeling it, then it only meant that Naruto was in much more agony than he was.

Konoha was the best place to start for what Kakashi thought were obvious reasons. There weren't many people who knew that Naruto had the Nine-tailed Fox sealed into him, and the few that weren't Hidden Leaf ninja were dead. Whoever took Naruto had already been acquainted with him before. That left one possibility.

It was someone they had all, Team Seven, met before. They weren't Leaf nin; that was too obvious, and as a shinobi, one must learn to look underneath the underneath.

The ninja who took him were more than likely going to kill him. So the best thing to do was gather in Konoha and do some deducing. Although he was far too wary of letting Tsunade approach the situation, they had aborted their given mission in favor for a more important one, and to proceed they had to go through the fearsome blonde.

One thing was for certain. When he found whoever kidnapped Naruto….he was going to kill them. Slowly.

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TBC…. 

I know, this took forever, but I come full of excuses! What's that? Don't want to hear them? Well alright…..if you don't care…..well…..

I know this is the longest I've ever taken to update, and I can't promise that it won't happen again. Soon. See, finals are coming next week (they're coming!) and I must study my ass of to keep my grades nice and high. (Yes, I'm proud to be a nerd. 3.9 GPA. I'll get that 4.0 yes I will….) Anyway, I was working on this chapter all week long, because I didn't want to not work on it whenever I got the chance. Yeah, don't worry, I'm brainstorming chapter 5 for OMG Kakashi-sensei is hot, so I won't leave you guys in agony waiting for it too long. Just as I get through next week, I'll get posting asap. I've got 2 take-home finals, so that's good. However, one of my worse finals is not. Math! NO! Nah, I do fine, but I still hate Math, everything else doesn't worry me at all.

Enough of my blabbing. I should also continue on that Christmas present I have for you all…

Ja'ne.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Naruto ain't mine. Shit happens.

Hello. No, I haven't died. I'm very much alive and kicking. So here the next installment is, enjoy.

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SituationalHazard14

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He had been thinking of Kakashi when he was caught.

Behind him, his kidnapper stalked up in the night, and all he was thinking of was Kakashi.

The stranger grabbed him from behind, held the sharp object to his neck; he had been thinking of Kakashi.

When the kunai cut into his flesh, he had been thinking of Kakashi.

And when he slipped into unconsciousness, his last thought had been of Kakashi.

Now he was alone, in pain, and scared. Kakashi wasn't with him. He wasn't home. He wasn't arguing in _their _home, and he wasn't safe in a tent in the woods, with him.

He was alone.

And in pain.

And scared.

He was past agony, past hope. He was into the first stages of death. And he was alone. Kakashi wasn't with him.

How he wished….wished with all his soul he hadn't left that night. How long had it been since he had…days? Weeks? He was in too much pain to tell. He couldn't think straight.

He could only think in the form of complete panic and agony-filled nightmares. When he did fall asleep, he was woken up immediately, and was aware that he never closed his eyes for more than mere minutes but the dreams always felt like eternity to him.

In those dreams, it was Kakashi who was creeping up behind him, unarmed and harmless. Telling him things, things like he cared for Naruto. Saying that he was sorry. Telling him that he was important to him.

And it was torture. That was what made them nightmares.

The fact that it would never happen, and that blissful, confusing happiness was so far out of his reach it felt like it was millions of miles away. Pure torture. But he never cried. He was past that. His tears had dried up along with his saliva, the only fluid dripping from his abdomen was his most precious. His blood, his life, was being drained into a container below him and he couldn't do anything about it. He could no longer scream. He couldn't even whimper.

He knew he was dying.

Just knew it.

He just knew….he would never see Kakashi again. In the not so distant future, he was going to die.

No more arguing with Kakashi. No more perverted innuendo in the morning. No more seeing Kakashi happy….no more. Never again would he hear that laugh he was sure not many had ever heard. He would never read Kakashi his favorite books for punishment.

He would never see Kakashi again.

And he despaired. Deeply, truly despaired. The pain somehow overwhelmed the physical misery he was in. He felt the sting in the back of his retinas, but no tears would come. He was past that.

He didn't know how long it had been since he found that he couldn't cry anymore. He felt the urge to do so but the centered anguish in his lower parts stopped the feeling in its tracks. He wanted to cry, he wanted to so badly because he couldn't do anything else. If nothing else, he wanted to feel sorry for himself.

This was his fault, after all. He had been stupid to get taken, Really, getting caught off guard like that, if even for just a moment. Thinking of Kakashi. Couldn't handle his feelings any better. Stupid.

His body felt lighter, much lighter. Almost empty.

They were almost done with him.

His eyes were closed. He hadn't been able to open them for a long time, he wasn't sure how long. The pain had spread, all over. Killing him.

He hung there limply, knowing that he was done for. They would take everything from him, and then discard him like trash. That was what they said. They said a lot of other things to him.

They said…they would kill him, and the silver-haired man that was playing with him wouldn't care.

They said…Kakashi would find a better toy. Toy? Was that was he was? Huh….maybe.

They said a lot of things….

They said Kakashi didn't care. Wouldn't look for him. Had enough of him. Was done with him. They said so many things. To hurt him. To make it worse.

It worked.

He had cried as hard as his damaged body allowed, yelling in his loudest voice, that it wasn't true. He and Kakashi had enjoyed each other. And that was the truth, right? Of course it was. It had to be. Kakashi wanted to save him. Kakashi would never let him be killed in vain. Kakashi did like him. He wasn't a toy. Kakashi did care for him.

But an unknown amount of time had gone by and…his thoughts were beginning to slip into darker realms. In that place his mind had gone to, his own voice was telling him what they had told him. His own voice said a lot of things. Some things they didn't even say. Kakashi wanted him to be taken. Kakashi wasn't missing him. Kakashi wasn't worrying. Kakashi was happy that he was gone.

He tried to fight the voice, but the more blood that drained from his defeated body, the more his resolve slipped. He was losing the fight. The cruel voices continued and he believed them. They were right. They had to be. If they weren't, he wouldn't be there. Someone would have saved him by then, somebody; anybody would have cared.

He wouldn't be dying.

He tried to argue in the beginning that it was impossible for his team to know what had happened to him and where he had gone, but his logic was being drained from him with his blood. Soon, he wasn't sure how soon, he was agreeing with the voices in his head, and the kidnappers' claims.

Where was Kakashi? Didn't Kakashi know? Didn't he know that Naruto needed him? Didn't he know that Naruto was dying? Why didn't he care? Why wasn't he coming to save him?

Why?

The woman and her male counterpart had spent more time in the room he was in than usual, sitting, or standing, he couldn't tell, below him, talking. Saying things….

…about Sasuke.

About how he would come back with them, and how Naruto was nothing but a mere tool to get what they wanted. Sasuke would be going back to them and they would kill the pink-haired bitch too. And they would hurt the Jounin so bad, worse than they were hurting Naruto.

Kakashi….they were going to hurt him. And it wouldn't be the first time either.

It wasn't so long ago they had almost killed Kakashi in the war against Konoha and the Rain country. The female had the power to find anyone, no matter where they were, and this was what nearly got the man killed. She had led the Akatsuki right to him. Where Itachi Uchiha was waiting to finish what they had started.

Naruto had lost his mind back then. Killed off four of the Akatsuki members. Almost killed his own friends.

Naruto thought Kakashi was on his last thread of life and sanity when he crawled to him slowly, knowing he could be ripped to shreds, and looked him in the eye. Then he reached up, with bloody, shaky hands and Kyuubi Naruto allowed him to stick the repression seal on his forehead. He thought Kakashi would die. He hadn't realized how scared he was until he had returned to his normal blue-eyed self and was in a universe of agony and could only think of Kakashi's well being.

Right then he was in a galaxy of pain, and all he could think of was Kakashi. In his jumbled, hazy, negative thoughts, fleeting memories of Kakashi floated through his subconscious.

Some were good.

Most were bad.

Most of them were of Kakashi telling him that he was weak and useless. Mean things like how he was never going to be the Hokage the way he was. But that was in the days of before. He thought he had gotten over it. But when you're in pain, you start to remember the things that match your feelings the most.

Some things Kakashi said and did hurt him. Others made him feel funny. But all he could think about were things that had happened, and things that could have been happening.

Kakashi could have been completing Team Seven's mission without him, not worried at all. Not caring, He could have been shrugging Naruto's disappearance off as something the blonde ninja would do. Inside, Naruto's thoughts were bleak, and self-destructive, and they matched the pain perfectly.

Lord knew Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't give a shit, and Kakashi was always as aloof as ever when it came to his cheerful teammate. Nothing would change with him gone. It would be quieter, but nothing would change.

That was what the voices were telling him.

And he believed them.

* * *

"Go! Find him! I don't care what you have to do, but these ANBU are going with you."

Tsunade had risen from her seat slammed a powerful fist down on the oak desk, cracking it in half.

Naruto was missing. How the fuck could his own team allow that to happen?!

Sasuke Uchiha was giving Hatake an accusing look, but what the hell was he looking at him like that for? It was every bit the brat's fault as it was Kakashi's. She told him this too, in a low, disgusted, pissed off voice, she told him that he was a little bastard who shouldn't be acting as if nothing went wrong in the world because of him.

"You fucking stop looking at him that way _Uchiha_!" She spat his name like it was deadly poison. The little shit had the gall to turn that glare toward her and if Shizune hadn't been there she would have put the little traitor in his place.

Sakura, her own apprentice, the one she had taught everything she knew to, just stood there, looking pathetically guilty.

She had sent Inuzuka Kiba and his team along with the Akimichi boy to complete the previous mission and sent Tenzou and another ANBU to accompany Kakashi's team. She wanted to scream their heads off and knock various people through several walls but time was of the utmost essence and so she dismissed them as soon as the ANBU arrived.

"Go to the Land of Waves. I have a feeling that some old enemies have something to do with this. Since the village has become connected to the mainland, there have been rumors going around that a laboratory was built in the last place Gato was said to have had his headquarters. In a place like the Land of Waves, a lab just popping up out of nowhere is definitely suspicious."

She turned to Sasuke. "And something tells me….that this has everything to do with you, Uchiha." She used all of her control to leave out the 'scum' at the end.

Sasuke looked away with a deep frown. He didn't doubt that she might have been right.

It was stupid of him to leave them alive. It was stupid of him to think the obsessive bitch wouldn't try to get him back. And leaving a man like Suigetsu alive was regrettably the dumbest mistake he had ever made. Those two were mad.

But to take Naruto to get to him? Was that really what was going on?

"I'm sure they would have assembled in the Hidden Mist Village, but then that would be too obvious. If you four hadn't been on a mission to the Land of Waves already, which is unknown to Naruto's captors, this information would not have been helpful at all. Their land is a simple, resourceful land but when something like this happens, certain people have their eyes open. The old bridge builder, Tazuna was said to have seen a man with the same sword a dead member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi carried. The coincidence is uncanny. Sasuke, you know who you're looking for. Instead of glaring daggers at Kakashi, why don't you make yourself useful and take those people out. You were once their leader; it shouldn't be too difficult. But Sasuke," She paused, going to sit at the chair behind her crumbled desk.

"I want him back alive or you'll be held solely responsible for his death. Your traitorous actions have cost this village enough. We will not lose another of our shinobi because of your lust for revenge. Now all of you, get the hell out of my office."

Sasuke stalked out of the Hokage's office, face red with burning rage.

He would get Naruto back. And he would kill Karin with the same vengeance he had killed Itachi Uchiha with and cleave Suigetsu in half with Zabuza's sword.

Kakashi followed after the long silent glaring session with Tsunade ended, his mask creased with the evidence of his displeasure at the current situation. It had gone far worse than he expected it wood, but on the bright side, now they had a location. And suspects.

Now Kakashi had someone to kill.

Sakura had stayed behind a while, no doubt trying to butter Tsunade up. A harsh slap was heard behind the doors of Tsunade's office, and Sakura appeared, holding her almost blood red, rapidly bruising cheek, blood streaking from her mouth where her teeth had broken the flesh of her gums. Kakashi sighed and kept walking.

It wouldn't take long to get to the Land of Waves, and with the help of the old bridge builder, they would find Naruto and get rid of the remaining members of Sasuke's little team when he had been acting as an avenger.

And there would be no killing of any kind between he and the boy, Sasuke was now made aware that it was more his fault than Kakashi's own. Maybe he was self-centered, but that made him feel better than he had in hours.

Sasuke didn't throw any more accusing looks his way for their entire trip to the Land of Waves and Kakashi felt like reminding him that guilt was apart of what made one human, something Sasuke thought he didn't have to be whenever he felt like it, but he kept his two cents to himself, not wishing to start any trouble with two ANBU jumping through the trees with them.

"Kakashi-sempai, what happened?"

Kakashi turned to the man with the cat mask, already having anticipated the question, he answered in a mild tone, "Look, he's gone, we have to get him back, it doesn't matter what happened."

Tenzou hmm'ed through his mask. He, Naruto, and Kakashi had spent time together before and if Kakashi wasn't in an explaining mood about it, then it had something to do with him. Naruto and Kakashi always did have a rather stale relationship, and to think that something could upset Kakashi that he didn't follow the Hokages orders on briefing him must have made it bad.

"Yes, but the Hokage told me that Uchiha Sasuke told her something that couldn't be true. She said I'd get more out of you since her methods were far more violent than my own…."

Kakashi started jumping faster and higher, really not in the mood to talk about anything. His mind was currently working up the various ways he could kill Sasuke's little friends in the most gruesome fashions possible but Tenzou was pulling him out of his morbid concentration and he didn't like it one bit.

"I told Sasuke what he told Godaime. If I said it, then that's what happened."

But Kakashi was a liar. That wasn't what happened at all.

"We'll make it much faster if we cut around the sea's perimeter and enter the country by the water. The bridge connecting it to the mainland also serves as the entrance and if we're going to be as discreet as possible, we're going to have to infiltrate." The ANBU with the bunny mask had a very deep and serious voice, but he was slighter in size than Tenzou and Kakashi himself. Dangerous.

Whatever way to get there the faster, he was willing to take. Anything to get Naruto back. He gazed over at Sakura, who was frowning morbidly, the right side of her face almost purple in color. He sighed and looked to Sasuke, who looked like he was flying he was bolting through the trees so fast.

He knew Sasuke was pissed. Sakura was hurt and angry as well and he himself was getting more and more agitated by the second by the brief looks Tenzou was giving him.

Was it so much to ask that he think his vengeful thoughts away from the watchful gaze of the most dangerous ninja in Konoha? Why couldn't he think of the different killing methods he had learned in his lifetime that he would use to murder Naruto's kidnappers without people looking at him like he did something overtly wrong?

Well….kissing Naruto and then telling about was wrong….

But he didn't kiss Naruto.

The look Tsunade had given him was beyond bad, and it was a look he would never wish on anyone but the people who took Naruto, but the looks the ANBU accompanying them were giving him was downright annoying.

"Stop that!" He seethed sharply. Tenzou and the other ANBU redirected their eyes elsewhere.

Damn it! Why couldn't he move faster than he was moving? Why did it seem to be taking forever to get to where they were going? Why couldn't he just take off and leave the rest of them behind and save Naruto himself? He was using all the chakra he had to almost blindly tear through the trees and still Sasuke was ahead of him, looking more determined than he had ever seen the boy.

He scowled harshly. What the hell was he in such a hurry for? He wasn't the one that wanted Naruto back the most. He didn't care about Naruto's well-being as much as Kakashi did.

Did he?

Just what was Sasuke's deal? Why did he suddenly care so much for Naruto more than he ever had in the past? After what he did and the pain he caused the blonde, he should have been the last person jumping to his aid with such ferocity.

How dare he be faster than Kakashi, when Kakashi wanted to get Naruto back more than he did? How dare he act like Naruto was important to him, like he was to Kakashi? How dare he?

Kakashi may have been slower than he was, but if anybody was going to be saving Naruto, it would be him. When Naruto opened his eyes, it would be Kakashi he was seeing, not Sasuke. Even if he had to push the raven-haired ninja out of the way just as he was setting those traitorous hands on him, Kakashi was going to be the one that Naruto would see after the horrible ordeal the silver-haired man knew he was going through.

If the god awful pounding in his head, nausea, and hollow pain in his stomach told him anything, it was that he had to get there as fast as he possibly could.

He was never very good at lying to himself, and he wasn't great at lying to others; had anybody asked him how he felt at the time he would have told them 'dreadful', truthfully. How else to say, what one feels when the most important person to them is taken away by their own fault? Guilty wasn't the word he would use anymore; he'd had enough of that, now he was just filled with dread.

What if they didn't make it in time? What if they did, and they still lost Naruto? What if he lost Naruto? What would he do? Would his students hate him? Would Sasuke try to kill him?

What the fuck was he going to do if he couldn't even increase his speed?

Sasuke was blaring through the leaves ahead of him and it was all he could do to keep up with the determined boy.

A nasty part of his mind wanted to purposely slow the Sharingan heir down. Throw a shuriken at him, try to roast him with his own clan's jutsu….something. He just couldn't be more determined to get to Naruto. He wasn't, damn it.

It would be a half a day to get to the Land of Waves, and that felt like an eternity to Kakashi, who never let time bother him unless it was of the essence, which it undoubtedly was. He knew they would have to stop for rest, but he didn't want to. He couldn't stop, not until he saw Naruto. How could he rest another day knowing what he knew then, knowing that Naruto needed him. Naruto needed to be saved. How the hell could they rest while he was suffering?

He was in pain, that much was certain, but he ignored the cramping pulls in his legs at jumping for so long, even as the bunny-masked ANBU suggested that they slow down and get ready to set up camp in and hour. It was just a rest Kakashi knew they all needed, even though they weren't going to be sleeping, he felt that they might as well have been.

Shit, Sasuke didn't look anymore fatigued than Kakashi's conscience was; he looked like he would sprint to the ends of the earth for Naruto. He would not lose to that brat.

Kakashi blatantly ignored the ANBU's suggestion and didn't slow his pace even minimally. He would not stop, even if his legs refused to move, even if they attempted to force him, he wouldn't be the only one. They would have to deal with Sasuke as well, who looked like he would kill anybody who got within a ten-foot radius of him.

He was glad the boy was way over on the other side, because if Sasuke tried to attack him again, he would _painfully _put the kid in his place.

* * *

"They're coming." Karin muttered.

"Damn it!" Suigetsu cursed, kicking his Kubikiri Houcho. "How the bloody hell did they know we were here?!"

"Well apparently," Karin began, "Someone in the Leaf village is very intelligent. We've underestimated their reaction time. But it's alright, Suigetsu. This plan is even better than our original. See, when we get Sasuke back, he'll take care of Konoha's squad and we won't have to go looking for him and risk unnecessary war. Once we destroy whoever is coming, we can move out and start to finalize our plans to take out Konoha for destroying our base. Once we eliminate them, and harness the power of the Kyuubi, the rest of the Hidden Villages will have no choice but to bow to us, with Sasuke as it's leader."

Suigetsu gave her an annoyed look when she was done. "What the fuck is so great about Sasuke, and what the fuck is wrong with you? Where you or where you not there when he left of his own will? Once a traitor, always a traitor. Get your fucking mind out of the clouds and realize that we don't need him. You do. I'm more than enough to take out their forces. All we have to do is kill them all, I'll cut them to pieces, and you'll do whatever it is that you do and---

"So, 'Suigetsu The Great', how the hell are we going to buy time in the meanwhile?! You say you're powerful enough to take them out, but you've overlooked one very important thing."

"What's that?"

"The Mangekyo Sharingan. It's been almost a year. You've heard the stories about him, if that thing has gotten anymore advance in it's technique, how are we supposed to know what we're up against? You forget that those ninja weren't just sitting around all this time. They train, they prepare themselves for shit like this. Now I don't know how they found us, but Sasuke is our only hope right now, so just shut up and deal with it for now."

Karin walked over the container and looked up.

"This kid is done for. We've got to start taking precautions to drain his chakra. Suigetsu, if we mess this up, it'll have been in vain. Removing the blood cells was a hard task at best, but we'll need to start removing the tissue surrounding his organs so that the chakra will be easier to drain. Once we do that, we'll have to start evacuating and finish someplace else. He's already weakened, so that the Kyuubi's chakra won't benefit him and the most difficult part of all is yet to come. Once the boy dies, the Kyuubi will either be unleashed, or destroyed and we have the displeasure of not knowing which is going to happen. Both scenarios are bad. We need to start the injection within the next hour to boost the flow and trust me, you'll be glad we chained him to the ceiling this morning. Once we drain his chakra, we'll get on with the releasing jutsu. We'll need Sasuke for that. He's able to enter Uzumaki's head, where the Kyuubi resides and control it's impulses on the blonde kid. That, Suigetsu, is why he's so important."

The white haired man grunted and picked up his sword. "I'm ready when they are. You do all that shit you were talking about but be ready to back me up if I need it."

She smiled coyly at him. "Oh? I thought you were more than enough to handle them."

"You made a good point, what can I say?"

If Juugo were still alive, he would have laughed at Suigetsu like he always did. All the more reason to kill the copy ninja. Juugo had been the most innocuous of the four. Half of the time. When he wasn't a raging, murderous, monster, he was calm and sweet and harmless, really. Not at all like them.

But Hatake Kakashi couldn't let him live. Juugo was connected to Orochimaru and he was in the way. He got the entire right side of his body sucked into a whirling abyss and now with Sasuke gone, taken away by the same people, she was more than looking forward to meeting with Konoha's ninja again.

They hadn't been the only one's collecting jutsu and getting stronger. They would see.

She would show Kakashi how worthless he really was without of that Sharingan and she would get the love of her life back and wield the power of the Nine-tailed fox and then the future was there's to do with what they wished.

'_So come, bring all of your strongest. This time, we won't lose.'_

* * *

TBC….

Ag, that took so long to get out, and then it wasn't even that long. But trust me guys, I know what I'm doing. If at all it seems rushed, then that's just me. Don't like it, too bad. I do this for your benefit. I'll get back to the smut soon! Yeah! Anyway, I only have one in-class final, and the rest I must slave over at home before I go to WV for the holiday, due the 18th. Sigh, yes, I am working on the next chapter to OMG Kakashi-sensei is hot! I'm sorry it's going so slow, but I want to update as bad as you guys want me to. I'm not one of those people who start something then don't finish it (anymore, lol), especially not with so many reviewers (most I've ever had, can't give up now). So yeah, and I have another Christmas surprise too! It came out of nowhere, but I think you guys'll like it. But I have another small surprise too (I'm just full of 'em) but I won't say what yet. Gotta wait till Christmas, nyah ;)


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I think that I was little faster in uploading the next chapter, ne? Well, I had some time on my hands, lol. I'm in WV, and it's alright up here, it does give me more time to ge you guys what you want so. I'm getting a job here soon to compensate for the time I'm away from my job in NY, so I don't know what will happen then, but I hope it won't be too bad. Enjoy!

* * *

Disclaimer: If Masashi Kishimoto would give me the choice to make a Naruto episode for Christmas, this fic would be it. But you guys know, shit like that never happens. Ever.

* * *

Situational Hazard15

Karin wished that she didn't need that fool Suigetsu to help her with her plans, because right then she really could have done without him. Especially with all of his bickering about how her idea was stupid after all and how she was foolish to believe that Sasuke was going to just come back to her simply because she wanted to. With his annoying ability to liquefy, it was damn near impossible to shut him up.

"Suigetsu! I know you're jealous, but could you please," She began in an icy tone meant to be nice, but known to lead to very nasty situations, "Please shut up. It's bad enough you're the only one here and I hate to admit that I need you, but I _will _kill you, understand?"

He gave her a cool look and propped his foot up on top of the sword. "Yeah yeah, Karin. I'll shut up about your precious Sasuke. But don't hit me when I say 'I told you so' Heh."

The throbbing vein in her forehead heated up to boiling intensity but she just sighed and slumped her shoulders. Well, if he was going to be like that then she could get Sasuke to take care of him later.

"Okay, whatever you say. All I'm saying is, he really is the last person---

"Suigetsu. Talk all you want. He'll come anyway. We've got his blonde friend and once we give him a good enough reason to come back….it's simple."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. Karin was always talking some blasphemous idiot stupidness and it made him take her far less seriously than a normal person. She was dangerous, that much was obvious, but she was also a bit of an airhead and he loved to poke fun at her about it. Of course, she had flattened him, cut him, blew him up, and hit him more times than he could count, but that didn't make it any less funny.

"This kid doesn't have much time. I'm going to find out where the Konoha ninja are entering, then you'll go and be the welcome committee. All I need is some time to transfer him to the only lab of Orochimaru's that hasn't been destroyed. After, whether you make it back alive or not, Sasuke and I will finish off the rest without you."

It sounded simple.

But they didn't know what was coming.

Two very angry shinobi dripping with murderous intent and bloodlust.

Suigetsu wasn't nervous though.

No. He was excited.

* * *

Sakura, for whatever reason the other ninja couldn't figure out, had not healed the wound on the left side of her face. It was still multi-colored and ugly, but she made no move to close the wound up, however agonizing it looked and surely felt.

Sasuke didn't care. She didn't have to come; either way she was useless. He could take care of the rest of Hebi himself. He didn't need her and he didn't need Kakashi.

Speaking of whom looked like he would murder anyone who even so much as glanced at him the wrong way, or even at all. Sasuke may have made himself believe that he did not fear Kakashi Hatake, but the Jounin was more powerful anyway he looked at it and he had respect for his abilities. He just didn't like him.

"You do realize that one of them has the ability t----

"I know that. I'll focus on how I'm going to take care of it and you just focus on how we're going to get there." Kakashi never bothered to look at him, already too peeved to do anything but jump.

Sasuke wanted to throw him a particularly dirty look but resigned himself to the fact that attempting to kill the man wasn't going to do anything but waste time, which was something he had a bad feeling they didn't have. And he was so sure that _he _was going to take care of things, when Sasuke already had his murderous revenge all planned out.

First, he was going to annihilate Suigetsu with a well placed fireball jutsu, and as for Karin…. All he could think of was to make it as bloody and gruesome as possible with the violent use of a kunai knife.

All things considered, it could have, in fact, been much worse than it was.

They could have known nothing, they could have been chasing air, but they had suspects and hope and that was much more than Kakashi thought they were going to get in the first place. He had never been a particularly optimistic person, but he wasn't a pessimist, he fully believed that he was realistic and never bothered to tell people lies that weren't beneficial to either party.

In cases such as the one they were currently facing, he had the choice to one or the other or neither, but he was going against all he had ever known.

He was being hopeful.

He was building more hope the closer they got.

When they entered the Land of Waves, his hope soared through the roof so fast it left him dizzy. He was sure that he was one of the very few people that knew the difference between hope and faith. He had faith that he would find Naruto. Yet he still knew that the chances of something far more disappointing lied ahead and denied himself the right to say that he was keeping faith, when really, he was moving and thinking on pure hope alone. And in that he found the slight difference and distinguished the similarities enough so that he didn't confuse the two and not take his mission seriously enough. And he was taking it seriously.

The ANBU had suggested that they stop nearly two hours ago and still, upon Kakashi's silent, determined insistence, they continued with no rest or food. It didn't seem to bother anyone. Least of all Sasuke.

Kakashi knew his mind should have focused solely on Naruto, but he couldn't help it when it drifted off to his growing dislike of the self-absorbed brat. His concern for Naruto, no matter how helpful and positive it was _supposed _to be bothered Kakashi to no foreseeable end.

Oh but sure, it was quite a different story when it was Sasuke who was gone, and wanted nobody to look for him. What was that supposed to be? Payback for saving his arrogant hide? Was he guilty? Naruto had spent three and a half years looking for him, and after having nearly died more times than he planned, could Sasuke have been thinking that if he saved Naruto, they would be even? Just the idea of it made Kakashi grit his teeth until the metallic fluid of his blood seeped through his cavities.

He didn't want to kill off his own student/teammate…..

…..but if it came to that, for Naruto's sake, he would.

All of a sudden there were no more trees to jump on and the ninja landed in soft, wet, murky dirt.

"Hn…so we're here, but we don't know where they are. By now they've sensed us and have the element of surprise in their favor. All we can do is wait for then to come to us."

Kakashi wanted to argue that they couldn't do that, but they had to. It was true, they didn't know exactly where Naruto was, and as of that moment, they only had one choice. Luckily, Sasuke was there. He would be the bait.

"Get ready. Stay on your guard and don't do anything foolish. I'm sure you know that mistakes are costly right now." Tenzou informed them. They all nodded wordlessly and Sakura took the time out to heal her burning cheek, finally.

"Our entry did not go unnoticed. They had to have been anticipating us from the start. Splitting up now would be unwise and dangerous, so we will stay together. Kakashi-sempai, that does not exclude you."

Said ninja nodded once and turned around. That was too bad. And he was in the process of planning an escape from the rest of the team. However, if the ANBU was right, then he really might as well have stayed and waited for their enemies in unknown territory without any knowledge of their opponents whereabouts. They were just sitting ducks.

Them. Not him. He was ready to kill.

"We do have a small strategy that may or may not come in handy. I will create a few Mokuton Bunshins and henge them into all of you, and you will do the same. Henge into one another and a clone of yourselves and spread out, that way, we are not just waiting targets. Every once in a while you should attempt to come back here, discreetly and see what's going on. They may sense you, but they cannot sense wood clones, so I'll be fine. You three will act as decoys and minor deterrents, but only if you have to. Pakkun will also assist us and Rabbit here will work on retracing with him. Is the objective clear?"

"Yes." They all responded.

Sasuke glared minutely at Kakashi and did a henge of the copy ninja first. Kakashi henged into Tenzou, and Sakura henged into Sasuke. When they were done, the clones dispersed back into the woods and to the main roads and forests to intercept their enemies.

"Alright. Now that we've done that, we'll wait. We kill first and ask questions later, one of them is bound to blurt out their intentions so that we won't have to waste our breath." Tenzou turned to Rabbit and the recently summoned ninja hound.

"Aright, go. We are counting on you. Do not dawdle longer than you have to and if you need to get into immediate and direct contact with any of us, then Pakkun has a tracer in his left paw that will enable Kakashi to pinpoint your position. The rest of us will stay together."

Rabbit was gone in a flash.

Tenzou looked to Kakashi.

The other man really did look like he had seen better days. He looked ragged, hungry, angry, worried, deadly, agitated, and tired all at the same time and that couldn't be good. It would have been a good idea to rest when he said they should, but he wisely kept his opinion to himself. Kakashi was a walking, breathing, furiously ticking time bomb that would rather not set off. No person in his or her right mind would do such a thing.

Unfortunately, these people who kidnapped Naruto was in their wrong mind and obviously were not sane, or they would have left the blonde teenager right where he was that night.

* * *

It shouldn't have taken very long for them to go and come back, but when an obnoxiously young voice cut the turgid tension-filled air, they were all taken by surprise.

"Aw, you guys waited for me. That makes me feel special."

Eye darted through the air, around, up, down, right, left, toward the woods, but nothing.

"Where the hell---

A very large sword swung for Sakura's head, almost totally catching her off guard but out of sheer shock she leaned back a few degrees and the sword missed. She felt the wind scrape at her temple and flipped out of the way of the white haired man at the other end of the monstrously large weapon. She recognized him instantly.

"Ah come on, don't look so surprised. You knew I was going to try and kill you, why the wide eyes? Nah," His smile was almost disarming, "You, are cute when you're scared."

Sakura grinded her teeth together and stilled her attack, crouching low on her knees and glaring at the big sword. Zabuza Momochi's sword. A look around told her that the outcome of lunging for the man was going to be bad. With three other people around and her in the center, Suigetsu could slice her in half and they would just watch. After all, nobody had even sensed him coming.

"Don't move." Tenzou was suddenly behind him, but he grinned even wider and slowly turned around the face the ANBU.

"Oh? And what happens if I do?" Unfortunately, Tenzou didn't know about the regeneration technique he had, and was too confident in his endeavor to kill the man.

Suigetsu smirked and began to melt rapidly, turning to thick sludge under Tenzou's feet and pooling around his ankles.

"What the fuck is this?!" Tenzou cried, struggling to kick out of the tightening grip on his calf, the sludge moving up to his thighs and around his hips. It stopped, and a head reformed. Suigetsu smiled impishly, which he seemed to be doing a lot of.

"I'm going to kill you, but we want Sasuke, so if you don't want to die by my hand, then just let him go."

"Get the fuck off of him you fiend!" Sasuke blindly went in, moving to stab him in the face, but Suigetsu liquefied just in time and the kunai pushed forward into the meat of Tenzou's leg. The other man let out a strangled grunt.

"You fool! What did I say?!" Tenzou was angry now, pushing Sasuke away from him as he was released and Suigetsu slinked off and away from him, reforming at the other end of the clearing.

Sasuke ignored him and searched for Suigetsu and attacked again. His hits were ineffective and misplaced, but all he wanted to do was kill him. In his blind rage he seemed to have forgotten that he had teammates that he had to make sure didn't die, either that or he didn't care.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke skidded back and blurred through the hand signs.

"Fire style! Fireball Jutsu!" The flames burst out of his mouth and combined into one huge fireball and began rolling toward Suigetsu, decimating anything in it's path, which happened to be Sakura and Kakashi. They jumped out of the way and called out to him angrily. Suigetsu allowed the fire to hit. As the flames burned his body, he melted and hardened, until the flames were being held back by the wall he created with his own body.

Sasuke growled. He had known their attacks almost as well as anybody and with Orochimaru's knowledge, the defense should not have surprised him. But it did.

Nobody had been able to stand up to his fire attacks with countering it with another jutsu, but Suigetsu ahd used his own body. Sasuke was aware that he could change the physical properties to become soft and liquid-like, but he had not known he could do the opposite.

Whatever.

Holding his hand up, his palm opened and the head of a snake slithered out, calmly falling to the ground. Several more followed it and when there were at least five dozen on the floor, they hissed menacingly and struck for each other, twisting and wrapping around each other's bodies until they were just a mass of tangles. With a sharp hiss and an abrupt stillness in movement, the snakes began to merge into one another. In less than ten seconds they had formed a large white snake.

"It doesn't have to be this way!" Suigetsu called to him, his head the only thing distinguishable in the rigid wall of flesh, or whatever it was.

Sakura cringed. Once Sasuke had said that he would not use any of Orocimaru's jutsu, but just then, he hadn't hesitated to use the snake Sannin's signature attack. Was Sasuke loosing his mind just to get Naruto back? Would he really give up his sanity and humanity to save him? She herself would have done anything to get Naruto back, but this was not the way.

Why wasn't he following the plan? Was it really all about Naruto? Or was it something else? Even Sasuke had enough common sense to know that their plan had a better chance of working than stupidly attacking with little to no chance of success.

"Sakura."

Kakashi stood a few feet away from her, watching Sasuke and not making a move to save him.

"Leave here. Find the clones and stick to the plan. We can't lose you so I want you to find Pakkun and Rabbit and leave the rest to us."

She nodded and quickly and stealthily snuck away.

Whatever the hell Sasuke was doing, she hope it helped more than hurt their mission.

"Sasuke back off and follow the plan! We either do this my way, or you'll mess up the chances of getting him back alive!"

"Yeah, Sasuke. Karin wants you back. I know, I told her she was stupid, but I wanted to kill you and she won't let me. Oh well. So look, I'm going to kill all of your friends and she can explain why. I'm not going to whine to you about why we need you, she can do that shit."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into deadly dark slits. He wanted Naruto back, but what the hell was the point if he couldn't kill his captors? And if it was him they came for, then he should be the one taking care of things. If the white-haired man was as dangerous as he seemed, then Karin would be definitely be trouble.

Before he could say anything Kakashi was flying through the air, blood coming from his mouth. Shit! Sasuke ran over to the fallen ninja, the white snake lunging for Suigetsu while he ran.

"Kakashi! Shit!" He hadn't even seen the attack. It was so fast. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Suigetsu, yet the man somehow managed to hit Kakashi, who was behind him.

Helping Kakashi up into a kneeling position, he stood in front of the shinobi, ready to guard him with his life. If they wanted him, it wasn't going to go that way.

"He's fast, Sasuke. Watch out as best as you can. I don't even know what hit me." Kakashi mumbled, rubbing his jaw. He nodded and spread his arms out. Snakes poured from his sleeves, hissing and slithering to the ground.

Tenzou didn't like what things looked like they were going, but their opponent seemed like he was careless of his mission. If they could only get him talk more, then Sasuke's efforts may not have been in vain.

"Look kid, we've got your friend, and we've got the power that your cold traitorous heart desires. Just kill them, or I'll kill them. Either way, she expects you to come to her." Suigetsu explained blandly.

He really didn't want to be there, but Karin and her stupid crush had him here wasting his time. He didn't care what she wanted, but the only reason he was there at all was because he wasn't pleased with their defeat either. He was gong to be one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, he couldn't be beaten like that. This wasn't for Karin. It was for him. Revenge. For killing Juugo and tainting his name.

"Well, where is she?"

"I'll tell you after they die."

Tenzou got into a fighting stance and prepared his Mokuton Jutsu. He had to deal with it fast or the clones would be destroyed as soon as they were, and Rabbit and Sakura would be in trouble. Pakkun still hadn't given any word that they found something so now it was just a matter of time.

The Land of Waves was only so big, the lab had to be close or Suigetsu would not be there. It had taken them less time than they initially thought to get there and if they were anticipating their arrival, then if could not have been long since they had left their base. For all he knew, it could have been in walking distance, but they would not know if they died at the hands of the sword-wielding member of Sasuke's little team.

Kakashi glared up at Sasuke. The revelation had just hit him full force.

This was not his fault.

It was Sasuke's.

It may not have been his fault right then, but directly, he was responsible. Even if Kakashi had scared Naruto away, he should have been safe, he should have been able to walk outside and not worry about people attacking him to get to his friends. It could have been anyone else, it could have been enemies they didn't know, but it wasn't.

It was Hebi, the group created by Sasuke himself. It was Sasuke who let them out of their confines by Orochimaru and used them for his revenge, and then betrayed them. And now they were back. And they had Naruto, and Kakashi really hated Sasuke right then.

He had fought as hard as anybody else to bring the boy back to Konoha, had risked his life for him and in the end they all failed. Naruto failed. Sakura failed. Then Sasuke came back, on his own, and accepted his punishment and rejoined Team Seven. Naruto was happy, and so was Sakura. Kakashi always had been more wary of him and Sasuke never gave him a reason to relax and just go back to the way things were.

What did Naruto think? Did he even know who his captors were?

That didn't matter. If Sasuke went with them, then Kakashi would kill him. He would rather Sasuke die than give him up.

"Where's Naruto?" He asked.

"He's….with Karin."

"Is he alive? You better not have hurt him."

"Listen, I'm only doing what I was told to do."

"I'm not going with you if you don't tell me!" Sasuke yelled.

"Of course. Well, to tell you the truth, he's alive. But not for long."

"WHAT?!" Tenzou drew a kunai and side-stepped one of Sasuke's snakes, which was headed at Suigetsu, hissing and all.

"Maa, he's not in the best condition. He would be dead if we weren't keeping him alive with the chakra boosters. But when we leave, he'll die and we will get what we want either way. See, Karin wants you Sasuke, but we could do it without you. You don't need to know what we're going to do, because the rest of you won't live long enough to care." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he were explaining something as trivial as the weather.

Sasuke's eyes blazed red as he activated the Sharingan. "Then take me to her."

Kakashi started to go and hit him but Tenzou held him back with an arms to his chest.

"Let him go. He can't go without the boy leading him. And we can follow. They don't have a choice. Even if Sasuke tried to rebel, we could take him down. Their plan is not foolproof. All we have to do is get him to hesitate long enough to formulate another strategy."

"I said I would, after they die."

"Assuming you're going to kill them and I'm going to let you."

"Sasuke, I knew this wouldn't work. But you won't let me go, will you?" Suigetsu smiled again, and slumped as if showing his defeat. "Karin will be so disappointed. She can't finish it on her own. She will kill your friend anyway and flee. So….what will it be Sasuke? Join us and forget about the brat, or die here with the rest of your comrades?"

"What brat would you be talking about?!"

Where did that asshole get off?!

"You're mad? Then do something about it. I've been waiting to get revenge for what you did for a long time. I never did like you anyway."

Tenzou and Kakashi tensed up. This wasn't their battle. Sasuke had to fix things. As for a strategy, they were screwed. Naruto was going to die no matter what they did.

Kakashi almost tripped forward when a loud bark in his head was heard. Pakkun.

"Kakashi. We're in front of the girl, and she is attempting to flee. He doesn't look good Kakashi. I don't think he's alright at all. I don't know what they did to him, but the only way I could tell it was him was the blonde hair. That's it. What's the plan now?"

"Directions."

"She and Sakura are going at it. I hid, and Rabbit is making his way back to you. I don't know how much longer she can last. The girl won't let go of Naruto, so Sakura can't land a direct hit. Hurry here, Rabbit is coming. The lab is not far. It's….I don't know this area, I can't say, but it's close enough so that Rabbit should arrive soon. I'll call you if anything comes up."

Kakashi almost grabbed Tenzou and screamed into his face. "If Sasuke can last long enough, Rabbit is on his way. They've found the lab. Naruto is barely hanging on if at all. We have a chance." He said low enough for him to hear.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned his head for a spilt second, simultaneously kicking Suigetsu's legs out from under him..

"Kill him! Fast!"

* * *

TBC….

Oh yeah! I know just how I'm gonna end this. I was worried I would not find a way, but once again, my genius has pulled through, lol, kidding. So guys, review, as if I have to ask you to, heh. And I'm about to finish this up. Oh yes, I thought about posting everything here, and not on the other site I was talking about. The people there don't deserve it, so I'm thinking giving it to you guys on this site. There was a reason I stopped writing for that site, and now I'm seriously debating on whether I should post here, or get someone to host it on their site. Hosting takes a while, and I'm sure you guys don't want to wait. But I'm thinking about it, and how about Media Miner. Org? Or maybe I'll figure something else out. It's just that, I've never seen anything as graphic as the things I write on this site, and I'm afraid it might be banned if I post too much stuff like that. But, I will give you guys one thing, but it's a test. I won't tell you what it is. Tuesday, people, Tuesday. (or Wednesday, if something happens)

Ja'ne.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Fast, ne? Yeah, I don't know how I did it either.

* * *

Situational Hazard16

* * *

"That sounds like a pretty good plan you've got there, but how do you suppose you'll pull it off?" 

Sasuke smirked. He was going to shut the weirdo up for good, right then and there. He was confident he could kill the smiling bastard on his own. He had one thing on his side that he knew was a sure weakness for the him. Genjutsu. Orochimaru had quite an arsenal of Genjustu techniques, all of which he would use at his disposal. All he needed to do was make it quick. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, but if he could just get a clear opening, then the rest would be history.

Just in case Suigetsu didn't know that his partner had been found, Tenzou thought it was best to stay with Sasuke and seemingly stick to the original plan. Of course, only Suigetsu was unaware of this.

Kakashi could feel his legs twitch and tense with the powerful urge to get to Naruto as fast as he could but he had to execise something he was running out of: patience. But for Naruto, he would stay, and if Sasuke needed help, he would readily jump in, much like he wanted to right then. It was the boy's battle, and it was better if Sasuke killed Suigetsu. What little allegiance this provided Konoha was something he didn't bother with; he could have cared less if Sasuke ran off again after Naruto was safe. Not that he would have let it happen. He would have sooner killed Sasuke, and he was sure Sasuke knew it.

Suigetsu brought his sword up and spread his knees to support its weight. He had been meaning to test it out, and Uchiha scum was the perfect reason. He was going to hack the brat up into tiny little pieces and rip out those eyes of his. Then he could add another weapon to his collection. Then Karin would stop fawning over the stupid little dick and get a fucking clue.

* * *

Sasuke in fact, did almost die. Almost. Suigetsu had not been killed by his hand, but by Rabbit, who intervened at the same time Suigetsu was about to destroy Sasuke from the inside. After having slithered down the boy's throat, the white haired man worked at his organs until Sasuke could no longer stand. Rabbit was faced with an unavoidable choice. To kill Suigetsu, he had to kill Sasuke. Fortunately, the one that counted was luckiest. 

"Now we can go find Naruto." Kakashi was in a hurry, not bothering to see if Sasuke was doing well. He didn't care. Naruto was first and foremost and if Sasuke had been killed, along with Suigetsu then it was all the same to him.

Without the consent of the ANBU, he was gone in a flash, already a good half a mile away before the rest decided that he had the right idea and sent Tenzou back with Sasuke after they had tried their best to treat him without Sakura.

Maybe Kakashi didn't notice that his feet weren't touching the branches, but sure enough, he was jumping on pure chakra, his speed increased by his need to get to Naruto as soon as possible. Why couldn't he move faster before? Was it a sign? Whatever it was, Kakashi thanked the gods above for giving him strength and speed when he really needed it. Naruto was alive. He had to be. He wouldn't be flying through the forest if he weren't.

He heard a faint shout of his name, very faint due to the distance it was coming from, but he ignored Tenzou's call and continued. He was following Rabbit, who had left some moments ago and was soon catching up to him, already spotting the gray ANBU vest.

"What the hell?" Rabbit looked behind to see none other than Kakashi on his heels. He remembered leaving close to fifteen minutes before Kakashi, how in the world did the Jounin catch up so fast?!

"Can't you move any faster?!" Kakashi shouted, hopping right past him. He sucked his teeth at the man's speed.

"Well, if I can't get ahead of your hasty ass, then I guess you'll never know." Directions were useless; one had to be there to know where they were. So by all means, Kakashi had to follow him if he wanted to get to their target.

Geez, he thought Kakashi was determined earlier, and was now convinced the man was just obsessed with saving one child. Uzumaki Naruto was dangerous if caught by the wrong people, but the man was acting as if he were running for the love of his life.

"Hmmm…." He hummed to himself. That was a disturbing thought.

'_Such a fast bastard!'_

Kakashi had had enough. Lagging back, he grabbed Rabbit's hand and tugged. Rabbit almost let out an unmanly yell of surprise when he was yanked forward at what seemed to be mile a minute. Flying through the air with Kakashi gripping his wrist, he held on as best as he could. If he let go then, he would surely die. Not wanting to splatter against a tree or worse, he let the Jounin drag him around, barely dodging branches and thorns and other things that may have brought about his untimely death.

Apparently, Kakashi didn't need air, but he did. Voicing his opinion, if he had the breath to do so, would have been pointless. The wind whooshed past them at speeds he had never gone before and he made a note to himself that he had to learn how Kakashi did it.

All Kakashi could think of was getting to Sakura and Naruto, and his feet agreed.

"Left!!! Oh God!!" Rabbit screamed, and he went left, almost plastering the ANBU against a thick oak tree carelessly. Did he even know how many times Rabbit had come close to death in the last five minutes?

"STOP!" The halt Kakashi came to was too quick to be human. Nobody could stop that easily after going as fast Kakashi had been going? What the hell, Rabbit thought enviously, what Kakashi have when they weren't looking?

When Kakashi stopped, his heart stopped with him. Naruto. Hanging limply from Karin's right arm by the hand, he was being carelessly, mercilessly yanked around like a ragdoll, like he wasn't human. Like he wasn't alive. Kakashi lunged for the bitch, tearing off his headband and activating his Sharingan all in the single restart of his heartbeat.

He flung Sakura out of the way and into Rabbit, who had just been getting to his feet. Her battered body slammed into him, knocking him down again. He cursed Kakashi Hatake once more and pushed the groaning girl off of him and jumped to his feet.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He would have added, 'Drop him you ugly bitch' at the end, but who knew how she planned to comply with his demands.

"Ummm….no." She sneered nastily. "I see you've killed Suigetsu. No matter. Where's Sasuke?"

Sweat rolled down Kakashi's brow nervously. He hadn't thought about Sasuke. How things could not work without him. She would kill Naruto if she couldn't get what she wanted, that was certain. He damned himself for not thinking of a plan when he had the chance. As long as she was holding on to Naruto, he couldn't use his Mangekyo Sharingan or it would kill them both. If he stalled too long in answering her, then he might as well have just told her.

"Your partner hurt him badly---

"Bring him here."

"Will you return that boy you have in exchange?"

"No."

Oh well, it was worth a try.

"I think I'll hold on to this trash until Sasuke gets here. Trust me, I have all day."

That was a flat-out lie. She had so little time, she was about to do something desperate if she didn't get Sasuke. Suigetsu was dead, and she had entertained the idea, but she really needed Sasuke to be alright. She knew Suigetsu would be killed, but Sasuke was hurt, and therefore he would be useless if he was unconscious.

No matter. Sacrifices had to be made.

Either way, Kyuubi or not, she would get him, and they would be together. So long as the copy ninja couldn't use his little red weapon, she was safe.

As for the blonde-haired piece of shit she held…..

"Nah, on second thought…"

The kunai came out faster than Kakashi could have anticipated it and was held to Naruto's throat by the grinning woman. As soon as his foot left the ground, Karin had quickly dragged the blade through the boy's neck, without a moment's hesitation.

Blood spewed everywhere and Kakashi stopped in mid-step glaring in horror as Naruto's body was dropped unceremoniously on the ground and into a dirty puddle facedown.

Sakura screamed in mortification, but the scream never reached Kakashi's ears.

Rabbit moved as fast as he could to recovered the bloody body before the Jounin went crazy. The whirlwind began as soon as his leg left its range. He dove out of the way, rolling with Naruto tucked in his arms.

Sakura couldn't move.

"Damn girl, get over here and do something!"

She shook her head. Naruto's throat…it had been…there was no way he was….

"Sakura!" Still, she couldn't bring her eyes away from the dead body of her friend. She promptly turned away and threw up, heaving and jerking with sobs. Rabbit grabbed her, roughly and put her hands on Naruto's chest. She tried to snatch them away but he held fast.

"Do something!"

Vomit dribbled from her quivering chin and down her vest. She struggled to pull away when a mind-shaking blow to the face snapped her head back violently, saliva flying out of her mouth.

"He still has a heartbeat you stupid bitch! Heal him or you die with him!"

Meanwhile Kakashi was pouring all of his chakra into his Sharingan, widening the dimension spiral so much that it was rapidly beginning to suck in the environment around Sakura, Rabbit, and the barely-clinging-to-life Naruto.

"Move!" Sakura, who had the sense punched back into her flipped up and out of the way and headed for the trees where they could hold on to something if they had to. They didn't have time to get back to Konoha of to find a village, all they needed was a safe place where Kakashi's disturbingly powerful jutsu couldn't reach them. At that moment,

Rabbit really wished he had the inhuman speed Kakashi had displayed earlier, because at the rate the Mangekyo Sharingan was spreading, it would have really come in handy right then.

Kakashi knew there was a ninety-nine percent chance that he would die when it was all over. He had never used the Sharingan with as much chakra before and all it would do was drain the very life from him and he would die. But if Naruto lived….if he lived, it was a small price to pay.

He would have smiled wryly if he could have. He would have given anything to stay alive and be with Naruto when he woke up, but fate had other plans. He hope his team had gotten as far away as they could, because it was going to be dangerous to be within a 120 foot radius of his eye. Trees, grass, dirt, and rocks were sucked into the center of the vortex and the girl was several degrees to the right and resisting being sucked in.

"Damn it!!!" She screamed. She couldn't use any jutsu. If she let the position of her arms slip for one moment, then she would be sucked in. But if she didn't, she would die. Shit. She smiled sadly. She hadn't even gotten to see Sasuke again.

Kakashi screamed at the top of his lungs and fell to his knees holding his head as the Sharingan went out of control, his left eye twisting into a complete spiral. The epicenter widened and just like that, Karin was sucked in, dissolving instantly before she even got to the other side of the dimension. Even when her body was destroyed, the Sharingan hadn't deactivated. Kakashi couldn't stop it.

Until all of his chakra was gone, it would continue to grow, bigger and bigger until he passed out or died and if he didn't do either one in time, he feared for the safety of his teammates. Already the whirlwind had spread over 13 miles of landscape and had destroyed everything in its path.

He wasn't sure if they were still alive, but he wasn't going to last long enough to find out so he hoped, with his last though, that Naruto would be alright and finally he was knocked back an unknown distance as the Sharingan retreated back into his left socket and slammed through his head.

The left side of his vision exploded with pain and then all was dark. Slamming to the ground with brain-jarring force, the right eye closed and full darkness consumed him.

* * *

There was a bridge ahead of them and a vortex of cosmic destruction behind them, but they had to get to one before the other got to them. Sakura was faster than Rabbit, so she took Naruto over her shoulder and flew from tree to tree with the ANBU at her heels. 

Strong wind tugged at them in a deadly attempt to ensnare them within the eye of death but using chakra they were able to just barely avoid being pulled back. In exchange for that their speed was decreasing.

All of a sudden, it appeared that the vortex was retracting and the winds weren't as powerful as they had been. She didn't know what it meant, but she refused to think about it. Hopefully Karin was dead and she could move fast enough to get to the bridge. She boosted her speed with chakra and jumped out of a tree and to the ground.

In a few steps she was at the bridge and almost dropped Naruto in her haste to check his condition. Setting him down gingerly, she searched for the heartbeat Rabbit said was there. She couldn't find it. Rabbit crumbled to the ground near her and tore off his mask. Sweaty bronze skinned, and a lot younger than she thought he would be. Not that she was looking. Naruto was more important.

Rabbit was tired, huffing and gasping for air he sat down next to Naruto and prayed that it wasn't too late. The boy hadn't stopped bleeding yet, but he was only gushing and no longer spewing. Taking the black cloth from his waist he handed it to Sakura. She dabbed lightly at the wound in his neck and tried not to focus on how that was the least of their worries. The worst might have been the huge hole in his abdomen that exited his back but all she needed to see was if the kunai had cut anything vital. It had gone through his jugular, but he would have a chance if that was all the damage done.

She yanked her hand back. What the fuck was that?!

Rabbit leaned closer; he had noticed it too.

Red.

Cloudy red mist of some sort seeping out of Naruto's wounds, like it was bleeding out of him like blood.

Sakura gasped. Red chakra. She nearly fell back with the effort to move away and Rabbit looked at her in confusion. "Get out of the way now!"

Before he could comply something knocked him back and he went tumbling over the bridge and into the water. Sakura called to him but moved farther away.

The red mist bubbled up out of Naruto's wounds, leaking through his mouth, nose, eyes, ears, neck, and stomach and rose into the air. She stared from where she was, shaking with fear. Chakra drenched the air until it formed a ball. Then it bubbled as if it were boiling and she was certain she could see the formation of eyes and a maw full of sharp teeth. She shrunk back. Before it fully formed into whatever monstrosity it truly was, it spoke.

"Pathetic human bitch. You cannot save my kit. I wish to destroy you, but I am not at liberty to do so. What you can do, human scum, is get the Sharingan copy brat and bring him here."

Sakura shielded her eyes from the flying debris unsettled by the deep boom of Kyuubi's voice and screamed in her own tiny little tone of defiance,

"No! I won't let you kill him! You'll have to kill me first."

The growl blew her backwards and sent her skidding back on her knees, tearing the skin off on the rough path of the bridge.

"Bring him here. If he is dead, the entire shinobi world will suffer. Make it quick little rat, my kit wishes to see him. The brat refuses to let me heal him until the copy brat is here. Bring him to me or my kit will die and in turn I will decimate everything you know."

Kakashi? Naruto was alive! She had little time to celebrate because she was knocked back the way she came by a tail that came out of nowhere. Her body snapped a tree in half, bouncing to a stop on her back in the dirt.

"Get up and go."

She didn't need to be told twice, and she got up and ran as best as she could back to where she had last seen Kakashi. She was a little worried that he hadn't caught up yet. What if he was dead? Would the Kyuubi still kill her? They sky bled crimson with chakra and behind her she ran faster, not wanting to suffer the wrath of that horrifying power.

Kakashi had better be alright, or they were all done for.

She leapt over fallen trees and ditched in the ground and made her way clear back to the battlefield she had left her sensei last. She came to an abrupt stop and gasped.

Nothing was there! No dirt, no trees, no ground!

"Kakashi!"

She looked around franticly and ran around the perimeter of the humungous hole in the earth.

'_Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, Sakura….' _

Dear god she hoped Kakashi wasn't down there, because if he was, she might as well have sealed her fated and jumped down there with him. Or maybe….worse could have happened. He could have been sucked into his own jutsu along with the woman with the black hair and then they were screwed for sure.

She couldn't give up, she had to at least try even when the odds seemed hopeless, she just might make it in time. She ran as far as the hole took her until she got to a part of the forest where the trees and terrain were still intact. And then it wasn't hard to spot Kakashi.

She ran to him and tripped over her own shock. The left side of his face was dripping with blood and his eye…..

….wasn't there anymore. Just a big hole where his Sharingan eye used to be, bloody and hollow, the nerves and tissue lying limply against his cheek and the bridge of his nose. It looked like something had ripped his eye right out of his head. Karin….?

Quickly, she pulled out a kunai and crouched defensively next to Kakashi's body, eyes darting around for any sign of the enemy. She cursed in her head, damn it, she didn't have time to fight, she had to get back to Naruto as fast as she could. It took all of the little bit of strength she had left to lift the lifeless Jounin up and sling him over her shoulder. She didn't know how she was going to get all the way back on the little it of chakra she had, but she was going to try. She didn't have enough to heal herself and after her fight with Karin she had been pretty banged up and she couldn't say the same for the woman, whom she hadn't manage to land a single hit on.

Sakura bit her lip until the skin broke in frustration. She hadn't been useless, but she felt that she could have been more useful. If only she could have done more, Kakashi and Naruto might not be dead and Sasuke too.

On the very last drop of her chakra she collapsed right before she got to the bridge, but it was close enough. As she surmised, the sky was still red and the Kyuubi was waiting. Kakashi dead weight pinned her to the ground but she didn't have the strength to move him. Hopefully the demon fox was satisfied with it and would somehow find a way to save Naruto. It was just too bad she couldn't stay conscious long enough to see.

* * *

He was used to the darkness. 

The darkness had been his best friend for as long as he could remember and it had never let him down before.

In the darkness, he could let his inner most feelings out, all of his pain, all of his anger. The darkness consoled him, made him feel like he had something in a life that continually gave him nothing. The darkness made him feel wanted. The darkness did things for him nobody in the light had ever been able to do.

He had been afraid of it at first, but then it embraced him and gave him what he needed.

There was a monster in the darkness. The kind of monster than haunted dreams and destroyed lives. But his monster was not that kind of monster to him. No, his monster was an understanding monster. His monster helped him to escape the cruelty of those other monsters. The one's that hid behind human mortality and only showed themselves to him, so that should he complain he would be told that there were no such monsters.

But there were.

Not his monster. His monster did not hurt him like the human flesh monsters did. His monster did not beat him, make him cry, or make his life miserable. His monster gave his life meaning.

He thanked the darkness as often as he could for letting him have his monster. The darkness responded by giving him a place to weep when he could not let the mortals see him cry. It gave him a place to vent his frustrations when he would not let the mortals see how much they were hurting him. It provided something for him to talk to when the mortals wanted nothing to do with him.

But the darkness did not bring Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi was a mortal of the light world, the world where the monsters hide behind human mortality and struck at him with their harsh words and fists and other things that they could hurt him with. He was never sure if the man with the one Sharingan eye was one of those monsters, but sometimes he wondered. Kakashi had hurt him, a lot more times than he cared to admit, but it wasn't the kind of pain inflicted by those other monsters.

Kakashi was never snide, rude, nasty, spiteful, or vengeful to him. All he knew was that Kakash treated him a certain way that was different from the way Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha were treated. Uchiha was one of the monsters hiding behind the flesh of man, always hurting him, always. Sakura was the same as Kakashi. She was not a monster, but she had also hurt him many times in the past.

A month ago he had found himself spending less and less time in the darkness, where the huge red eyes and towering sharp teeth always waited for him. He had learned that there were mortals who weren't monsters, and that if he tried to, he could tell the difference between them.

The monster inside of him hated the mortals, the one's that looked so much like him, but it liked him, he could tell. It talked to him, all time, but he would tell no one of this. His and his monster's conversations were always private. Nobody else was to hear.

A month ago, he and his monster had something new to talk about at night. Kakashi Hatake. His monster hated the man, but listened to all he had to say about Kakashi, even laughed with him sometimes. He knew his monster could grow to like Kakashi.

Kakashi wasn't the mean lazy sonofabitch he was when he was alone with him. Kakashi was funny, and had given him a place to stay when he had none. Kakashi wasn't the most caring ninja ever, but he was sympathetic and….well….his monster had told him not to get too attached, but Kakashi was like a friend to him, more than Sasuke ever had been, even if the copy ninja would not say the same thing. His monster supported him when he told it about Kakashi.

Even when he had been taken away by monsters more horrible than the ones in his own village, his monster had been there for him, in the darkness, sharing the cage of his own mind with him. His monster was more aware of things going on outside in the light than he was. While he hid and cowered from death behind the bars of his subconscious, his monster had been telling him all of what was going on out there. When the pain became too great, he stumbled into the darkness and let its cold abyss embrace him, leaned against a great paw and slept.

His monster told him that he was going to die.

The insecurities from the light world seeped into his head, making his usually welcoming place of comfort depressing and painful. Words that weren't his or his monsters plagued him, saying horrible things that he didn't want to believe.

He waited for death in the darkness and he could feel the presence of his monster slipping away from him. It made him scared. It made him wish Kakashi was there. His monster was getting smaller and smaller and he knew that his chakra was being drained. His was all gone, and now they were taking his monster from him.

More than anything, he wanted to see Kakashi again. The darkness felt less welcoming without his monster, but if he was going to die, he only wished he could see his friend again. He wanted to tell Kakashi how much he missed him, how much he…liked him. He liked Kakashi a lot, he knew that.

So when his monster returned, big, but thinly spread, and told him that Konoha shinobi were there to save him, he cried in the darkness, hoping against hope one of those ninja was Kakashi.

If he couldn't see Kakashi, he would die, even when his monster tried to save him. He did not want to live if Kakashi hadn't come to save him. He didn't want to die without seeing Kakashi. He told his monster so. His monster left him. He didn't know where it went, but he was sure it would return. It had to. Because….he was his monster's kit. His monster cared for him, he would not leave him.

Stupid kit, refusing the right to live over some mere mortal. Hatake Kakashi was not his favorite shinobi, but the brat had made his kit happy and so he was less hateful in the presence of his blue-eyed container.

He had the weird colored-hair child bring him Kakashi, the one his kit wept so pathetically for. The man's condition was unfortunate, but the brat was alive, and that would make his kit happy.

Well, he could see that the silver-haired man could no longer be called Sharingan Kakashi or the legendary Copy Ninja of Konoha. And his kit liked that useless garbage? He would never understand humans and their ridiculous attachment to useless things.

The stupid girl had passed out and the ANBU was crawling out of the water's surface to get to them. The look on the young man's face made him flash his set of deadly fangs in an amused grin. Oh, he wasn't going anywhere until someone returned to save his kit and the boy's pathetic comrades.

Rabbit sat back, stilled with fear and hopelessness. Sakura looked dead, and how Kakashi got there with his eye missing was a mystery, but it looked like the Kyuubi had taken them out. He could do nothing against the power of the nine-tailed fox, even when it wasn't at it's maximum, it wasn't like he could hurt pure chakra.

"What are you staring at you rodent? Your comrades are slow. And weak." The glowing red eyes averted down to Sakura meaningfully.

"She could barely bring this brat here, let alone take him and my kit back to your village. But trust me, I would love to snap all three of you to pieces but I cannot. You're lucky I did not seriously hurt, or you would be quite useless, now wouldn't you?"

Rabbit said nothing, still not ready to trust the demon who tried to destroy his village all those years ago.

"You will watch over them with me. Don't make me kill you, you are not important to him."

Now all they could do was wait for Tenzou and the others to arrive and then hopefully that dangerous monstrosity would go away and stop looking at him like it wanted to snack on his limbs.

TBC…..

* * *

See, I don't think that was a cliffhanger, do you? And I wrote this in about six hours, so I updated uber quick for you guys. Yes, this mission has come to an end, but oh my, it looks like a few people have suffered….oh well. Love you guys! And thanks for the beautiful reviews you left me for Three's Company, which was the best name I could think of. I know, I could have included Yamato more, and maybe I will write a sequel….maybe. We'll see. Ja'ne. 


	17. Chapter 17

Situational Hazard17

Disclaimer: You know, I wish I did….but I don't. But wouldn't it be interesting if I did?

A/N: Heyo! It's been a while but I'm back and look! I made more for you guys, yay! So yeah, I know you'll enjoy this chappy, try not to tell me how evil I am for making a few people suffer. I am completely aware of this. Enjoy!

* * *

Tsunade worried. She bit her nails, she paced the floor, she stared off into space, she cried, and she worried. The damage was almost irreparable. And it wasn't just Naruto. Kakashi had also lost and suffered a great deal. So many of her shinobi were in that hospital, some were on the verge of dying, others were just being saved. Some of them, like Naruto, had yet to even show signs of waking up.

Naruto was in a coma that would probably last forever, and Kakashi kept slipping into shock and came close to dying of several would-be aneurysms, among other things that kept the blonde Hokage practically living in the waiting room and spending most of her time in surgery for him. Kakashi had surgery fourteen times in the last two months. She worried so much her wrinkles were beginning to really show, and her age was making itself known to her in the mirror more and more everyday.

Sakura had healed in a week and had been keeping an eye on Kakashi and Naruto for months with Tsunade, every bit as worried as her master. Naruto hadn't woken up, or even so much as twitched since they brought him back to Konoha after that fateful fight with the remaining members of Hebi.

Sasuke was nowhere to be seen for a long time, and she thought that maybe he had left the village again, but sometimes she heard through some of her friends that he had been working on becoming ANBU and that he never really talked anymore.

Sakura herself had become a shell of a person, absorbed in all of her work at the hospital, that she didn't give herself any time to socialize or be happy, too busy making sure that he teammates didn't die in the middle of the night. Keeping Naruto from slipping past a coma was extremely difficult. He had only gone through surgery once and never again. For some reason, his body was rejecting a lot of the medicine Tsunade tried to give him. The Kyuubi wasn't making it easy either. She supposed the only thing keeping the boy alive was the thin veiling of red chakra flowing underneath his skin, but without that she was sure Naruto would have been dead before they had returned to the village.

Things had changed, and not for the better. Tsunade had been hard pressed not to 'accidentally' let Sasuke and Kakashi die on their hospital beds for the pain they had caused Naruto and Sakura had almost come to blows with her just to keep them alive.

Then Tsunade broke and nothing had been the same since.

In fact, the council was currently making arrangements for a new Hokage, because Tsunade had no time to dedicate to her duties to Konoha. Shizune was doing the best she could, but she never was cut out to be anybody important and found the work troublesome and too much for her to handle on her own. Maybe it was just a rumor, but Sakura thought she heard that they were looking at Neji Hyuuga as a possible candidate.

With the possibility of Naruto never waking up, she and Tsunade were discussing taking the boy off of life-support. It was sad, but it had been almost a half a year and nothing looked like it was getting better. Kakashi threatened to die at least once a week and Naruto couldn't breath on his own. The hole in his stomach was healing, gradually, but the damage done to his insides and tissue was something that neither she nor Tsunade had found a jutsu to fix.

They had brought the best medical nin from all over but despite all their efforts, his condition never changed. Maybe taking him off life-support was a good idea. He could have been suffering for all they knew. He could have spent the rest of his life in that coma, and all they would be doing was wasting effort.

She knew it was killing Tsunade to watch the boy she had looked to as a little brother lying so lifeless on the bed he hadn't moved from in what seemed like ages, not knowing whether or not he would ever wake up.

But…the Kyuubi told her that if she brought Kakashi to it, that Naruto would be alright. She did and he wasn't. Now both of them were fighting for their lives and she had the heart-crushing feeling that the demon was having a difficult time upholding it's end of the bargain. All of the chakra the two of them had lost. For Naruto, whatever those people did to him were having very severe effects on his chakra networks.

She wished she had bothered to swallow the urge to pee herself and asked the Kyuubi what it was going to do to save Naruto. Should she believe the monster? Was all she needed was patience?

Tsunade didn't want to hear any of that. When she tried to tell the blonde woman what the Kyuubi had told her, Tsunade told her that she was delusional.

Maybe she was. But she really hoped that she wasn't.

Iruka…Iruka had stopped working at the Academy when word of Naruto's condition reached him. He had been visiting for the first month, but then just stopped coming one day and she knew he had given up hope, like she almost had on much too many occasions.

It was so hard to just keep having hope, even when she was so sure that there was none left. She clung to the Kyuubi's words, believing they were true and that someday, Naruto and Kakashi would wake up. At one point, she got it in her head that their conditions were linked.

"_Bring him here. If he is dead, the entire shinobi world will suffer. Make it quick little rat, my kit wishes to see him. The brat refuses to let me heal him until the copy brat is here. Bring him to me or my kit will die and in turn I will decimate everything you know."_

And the world wasn't suffering. Well, not outside of Konoha Hospital.

Naruto wanted to see Kakashi. Naruto refused to live if Kakashi wasn't there. Why? What happened that night in the tent? Did Kakashi really kiss him? Was there something going on between the two? That couldn't be. She was sure she would have noticed something if they were together. And that was just…..wrong. Kakashi was almost twice Naruto's age, that just couldn't be right. Naruto wasn't gay, she knew, but she couldn't say the same for Kakashi. His sexuality was as mysterious as his face. Naruto was too naïve to fall into a trap like that, wasn't he? Was Kakashi using him? Did he want to see Kakashi because he believed that there really was something between them?

All of that made her head hurt.

She just wished they would wake up.

* * *

Life had gone on without them. The entire world revolved with two less shinobi. The other Rookie Nine had become Jounin or ANBU, some even left the village. Tsunade had become even more bitter than she was after Jiraiya had died.

Hinata Hyuuga had been put in an insane asylum for various attempts at taking her own life. Her obsession with Naruto had finally pushed the timid girl over the edge. Sasuke had gotten her pregnant but made it clear that he didn't love her.

Things got worse.

Iruka had become a Jounin, and had been making frequent visits to the hospital in less than stable condition lately.

More than a year had gone by and they still hadn't woken up. Sakura cried everyday. Tsunade had stopped treating them. She was on her own, keeping her two friends alive with everything she had, which was next to nothing. But she couldn't bring herself to pull the plug on either of them. Kakashi's condition seemed to be getting worse. Things had gotten so bad and it had so many started years ago. With Itachi Uchiha. Nobody but him was to blame. He was dead, but people were still suffering because of him.

She had started taking pills for her depression. It couldn't be helped. Things had just gotten so bad.

Sometimes she wanted to give up. Sometimes, she wanted to walk out of the hospital and just stop. Stop worrying, stop treating, stop caring, stop hoping. Sometimes. But most of the time, she caught herself with enough time to spare. Just in time she caught herself from bring a kunai down into her blonde friend's heart, the one that wasn't even beating on it's own. Just in time to stop herself from punching in Kakashi's life support machine. Just in time.

It wasn't always so simple to stop. There were times when she would hurt herself to keep from killing them. She knew. She was losing her mind. She didn't remember the last time she had gone home to see her parents. She didn't remember the last time she'd smiled. The last time she saw one of her friends. The last time she saw Sasuke.

Life had gone on. But not for her. Everyday it was the same thing. Wake up at all times of the day to make sure Kakashi's brain didn't try to fail again, make sure Naruto was still alive, or as alive as he could have been. Make sure she wasn't dreaming.

The more things changed, the more they really did stay the same. Sakura feared things would never get better. Only worse. She didn't know how much longer she could do what she was doing. And it wasn't such a difficult task anymore. They weren't responsive enough for her to be on her toes all day. Most of the time, she just checked on them. No more surgeries, no more medicines. Just the machine keeping the left side of Kakashi's brain alive and the machine keeping the blood pumping through Naruto's veins. She couldn't call it breathing really, fore she hadn't felt him move in so long.

Kakashi had lost a lot more than his Sharingan. The entire left side of his brain and right side of his body had been messed up so bad that if he ever woke up, he could never be a ninja again. He would live his life as an invalid. It was a sad fate.

As for Naruto, if he ever woke, she had yet to know what his fate was. What those people did to him was irreversible. For Sasuke.

Tsunade had been angry at the Uchiha, had banned him from visiting, not for his lack of trying. She hated Sasuke. She blamed him for all that happened, refusing to see the bigger picture. Itachi Uchiha was the reason things were so messed up. Sometimes, Sakura wished she had someone alive to blame, but she would never blame Sasuke. They lived in a world built on loss and death, murder and revenge.

How could she blame him for being what all ninja were born to be? She didn't blame Kakashi either, like Sasuke did. He never talked about it, but he hadn't exactly tried to keep it to himself during that fight.

For once in her life she didn't feel useless. She was doing what she was put on earth to do: fear for the people like Sasuke and Naruto and Kakashi when everyone else had someone to blame, when everyone else created more pain to fix their problems. It was her job to forgive the people who had made the wrong choices, like Sasuke had, as a part of their life. Sasuke had made revenge the most important thing to him and it had cost a lot of people a great deal.

Itachi had made power the most important thing to him and several years down the road his decision was impairing the judgment of so many others. Karin would not have wanted Naruto if the Orochimaru and the Akatsuki had not put the idea in her mind that power was everything. In the shinobi world, things always had a way of catching up, no matter how far behind it was thought to be left. That was just the way things were.

Naruto had wanted to change that. Now she didn't think he'd ever get the chance.

But enough of that. Today she was going home. It had been too long since she had seen her parents, and after all the time she had spent crying and frowning, all she really wanted to do was smile. Just for one day…

Really, there weren't any medical nin didn't know the routine by then. Sakura didn't do very much for them anymore except watch over them. It was time to go home. Although she felt guilty about being with her loved ones when they had none, she could have learned to care a lot less than she usually let herself. It was just as it was. Why should she have to continually suffer for a lost cause? She wanted so much to give up…. She wondered how long any other person would have held on and would have bet that she had put in enough time, more time than anyone else would have.

And that was true. Naruto and Kakashi didn't have anyone to look over them, no one to go home to. Naruto never had anything. It would be sad to leave him, but in the shinobi world, people had to learn to let go.

'Let go…' 

Maybe she would return the next day…

….maybe she wouldn't.

Who knew?

* * *

He wasn't sure he was all there, perhaps he wasn't if he didn't feel like he was, but he could have been. He didn't know. He could have been anywhere. He was _somewhere. _Didn't know where. It was dark. The kind of dark that held no existence.

But he was sure he was there….or maybe….that wasn't right…. He was somewhere. He didn't know. It was pitch black wherever he was, if he was, and he might have been alone.

Maybe. It didn't feel that way.

It felt like he was being watched. That familiar nagging feeling at the back of one's senses that enables them to pinpoint more or less from where the watching is being done. But it was dark. He couldn't tell who was watching him or why, but he knew, he felt it. It wasn't subtle either.

But…who could see in darkness like that? Could he have been wrong?

No…not watching him….

_With _him

He wasn't alone.

He had tried to touch himself to see if he was really there, but he couldn't feel the movement of his arms or legs no matter how hard he tried. Maybe he was there. Maybe he wasn't. He wasn't sure.

One thing was for certain: he wasn't the only one in that thick nothingness. Someone or something else was probably wondering if they were there too.

The darkness did not have time, or significance, he did not know how long he had been there, wondering. It felt like a long time, but it could have been seconds, minutes, mere ticks in the workings of a clock.

The darkness had a way of making him wonder too much. Like whether or not he was losing his mind, because that was there. His mind. But all it did was wonder and frustrate him with its terrible lack of answers. He wanted to know a lot of things. He thought he had screamed out his questions, but he never did hear anything. He couldn't feel anything either. Not even the beating of his heart. It drove him mad. How mad could a person be in their mind?

Another aimless, timeless, being-less paradoxical existence in the darkness, just like whenever ago. There he was, there. Or something like that.

He couldn't tell if he had blinked or looked at another patch of black, but out of nowhere and nothing, a bright red light appeared. It wasn't a slow light, it wasn't a still light, it was spreading, widening, enforcing change in the darkness, coming closer.

Closer.

He tried to run. He wasn't moving. Or maybe the light was too fast, too encompassing. He was engulfed in it, and he would have fought, but there was that problem he had and it might not have worked anyway. The light had eyes.

And a mouth.

Not a light. Something else.

Something….demonic.

He couldn't scream and wasn't sure he wanted to. The red light was a refreshing change from the sinking darkness that usually consumed him. The red light was unsettling, but it was not unwelcome. It wrapped around the entire plane of black until it was all around him.

Around him. Around…

Around what?

There was an absent shaping red around him, forming to something he could not see. He logically assumed the blackness to be his body, logically because all of a sudden he could feel. A hot, almost scorching sensation inside of him, a cold stinging outside.

"It was mere moments to me, but two years of your worthless life are gone."

He was certain he gagged when the voice spoke, only to find himself strangely close to the red light's teeth. And getting closer----wait, much too close. Inside, and he was standing in a large puddle.

"I believe I am wasting my time but…."

Who? What time…?

"Kit felt inclined to call this a form of rent." A rough guffaw. "Humorous, yet bitingly true to some absurd degree."

Deep, growling, cold, deadly voice. The red light was not a light at all. Who the hell was Kit? Could that person have been the other presence he had felt?

He was in front of bars then. Tall, golden bars with a tattered seal stuck to the front where he was sure no key was made big enough to fit. Where was he anyway?

"I would much rather gnaw on you flesh, but what can I say….If you tell anyone…."

Tell who what? What?

"Come closer."

He wasn't sure that was a good idea. The red light, or whatever it was, had begun to seep through the bars, with a strange hissing noise he knew he would be a fool to investigate.

"You are less than you were before, and that is saying something. Closer, I'm not going to bite you, not that you don't look tasty."

He looked down at himself. Woah! Well, the lack of clothing wasn't what surprised him, but that he could _see _this lack of clothing! Sort of. His left eye was dark, but that was normal for him. He didn't use that eye. Though it did feel kind of funny.

Did that mean he could….

"You are…."

Ah, his memory was a bit fuzzy, but things were starting to come to him then. The voice was taunting him. The voice knew who he was. Then who…

" Kit seems to think that chakra grows on trees. I should remind him by killing you that not much is necessary. You missed nothing. I am ready."

"Wait. What are you talking about?"

Silence.

Out of curiosity and a vague sense of trust, he stepped through the bars, closer, into more darkness and right into the deep red chakra. The voice chuckled in a very non-amusing way, but he continued on until he suddenly felt like he was being pushed backward, falling.

He didn't yell.

It wasn't kind of falling where there was any particular end, just the calm feeling of flying downward and anticipating that something was waiting for him wherever he was going. He closed his eye, and fell.

Deeper.

There was a light. He felt its warmth and allowed himself to be embraced by it.

Even though there was a sharp pain in the left side of his head, he didn't have time to contemplate it because with another surge of adrenaline his eyes cracked open to be flooded with light.

White light with a white ceiling and white-hot pain was what he woke up to. A loud beeping noise was going off to his left but that was the least of his worries. He could barely move and when he did, all the pain went to his head.

Footsteps were heard, loud and quick and headed straight for him. The door burst open. He hadn't known there was a door…

"H-Hatake-san!"

Who the hell….?

"Get Tsunade-sama quick!" Whoever the female voice damaging his ears and worsening his headache belonged to, she wasn't alone.

He groaned and tried to close his eyes to tune the woman out but her obvious excitement had other plans.

"Hatake-san, don't move. I'm Nurse Enzo Shiranui and you're at Konoha Hospital. You've been here for two years in a…."

Blah blah blah. He already had his eyes closed and couldn't hear her voice over the thumping in his head.

"…Sharingan was destroyed…."

He cracked open a lid. His Sharingan? Shit, that was what the horrible agony in the left side of his face was? It wasn't that he didn't remember what happened, he was actually hoping for a far less life-altering diagnosis, but oh well.

"Get some rest, Hatake-san."

What the fuck was wrong with her? He had just woken up from years of rest, and how the hell was he supposed to go to sleep with the bitching headache that he had?

"Na…ruto…"

For the first time since she ran in the room, Enzo was quiet and for the first time since she ran in the room, Kakashi didn't like it. She walked around to the other side of his bed and turned her back to him, fussing with the brain scanning machine for a bit before talking again, uncertainty creeping into her voice even as she tried to sound professionally uncaring.

"He's still in coma. We're not sure he'll wake up."

Kakashi closed his eyes again and fought against the pain assaulting his temples and other parts of his head along with the urge to throw something at the woman if he could just to get her to stop lying. Naruto would wake up. Just because. Because there was no way he was alive, and Naruto wasn't. He shifted his eyes to the nurse messing with the machine and said in a broodingly dark, but calm voice,

"Go check again."

Enzo glared at her younger brother's fellow Jounin in distain. What was so important that she had to go and check on the blonde monster's status? All the same to her the boy could have died. He was the murderer who took her parents away and left her and Genma struggling by themselves. And she was supposed to check up on him? Wasn't that Haruno's job? Speaking of whom, where did that girl go?

"Hatake-san, when Haruno-san gets back, she will---

The door opened again, and much to his chagrin someone walked in with a surprised, but unhappy look on her face.

"Uzumaki Naruto has come out of the coma. Hokage-sama requests that nobody go into his room until she arrives." She was a fairly tall raven-haired woman with sharply slanted eyes filled with grimacing displeasure and a deep frown that looked like it had been carved into her face. Kakashi wanted to tell her to get out, but was already thinking a mile a minute about Naruto.

He just knew the bitch fiddling with his pillow was wrong.

"Repeat his condition to me."

Enzo sighed and pulled one IV out of his arm to replace it with another, doing the same with the one in his neck. Again, "When Haruno-san gets back---

"I said fucking tell me!" He snapped.

His head almost exploded at the volume of his voice. "Ugh... get out…"

Enzo ignored him and continued to adjust his blankets and pluck his IV tubes and frustrated, with some unknown strength, he picked his arm up and grabbed her wrist and squeezed.

"Hey! What do you think you're---get you hand off of me!"

"I said…get out, now."

"I'll leave when I'm done here, now let go of me!"

Kakashi groaned. It was going to be a long and painful day dealing with that bitch. Now it was obvious why Tsunade had ordered Naruto be left alone until she came. If the nurses were being such cunts to him, he could imagine how they would treat Naruto.

The other nurse had looked like she had seen something inexcusably disgusting when she walked into the room, only to tell them that a fifteen---no wait, it had been a while---seventeen year old boy in a coma just woke up, as if that were such disdainful news to warrant such a look.

He wanted to strangle the heifer but his arm refused to surge with anymore power and it went limp, letting go of Enzo's wrist.

"Get the fuck out." He tried again. She nodded once to the other nurse and the woman walked over, putting a hand in one of her pockets. Kakashi wasn't a stupid man. He knew what was about to happen.

"It's time for a nap, Hatake-san." She said, and jabbed the needle into his forearm.

* * *

Tsunade had probably never moved so fast before, she couldn't remember ever having done so, but when Shizune burst into her office and broke her door down with such great news, she promptly stood up and vanished in a run, heading down through the tunnel in the office and to the hospital.

Several people who didn't know any better than to stand in the ridiculously strong Hokage's way were knocked out of her path, trampled and slammed into the various things.

Suddenly, like, out of nowhere, a man popped up in front her, just rose out from Kami only knew where and intercepted her. He was a Jounin, which is the only reason he hadn't been mauled by her.

"Tsunade-sama, I have news from---

"Go the fuck away!!!" And the poor man was sent flying through the halls, taking out several people on his way down. At the sight of that, people started backing away and finding other places to be, mainly anywhere she couldn't see them.

When she got to Naruto's room, she stopped to calm down lest she annihilate the door in her excitement.

She opened it slowly, and stuck her head in. Nobody was in the room, per her orders but she wondered what she was thinking leaving him alone. At any rate, she was glad she was alone when she closed the door and rushed over to him, falling to her knees as soon as she touched the bed.

"Oh Naruto!" She cried, burying her head into his stomach, crying all of the tears she had held in and warded off with sake then, soaking his blankets. It was a good thing nobody else was there to see the Hokage, the strongest shinobi in the village, crying on her knees like a helpless damsel over a boy that didn't even know she was there.

All the months he had had spent in the hospital so many things had happened, she only wanted him to wake up to someone familiar, something constant and not all of the changes Konoha had been through. Someone that cared. He didn't have to worry, when he woke, she would be there. He didn't have to know that sometimes she wanted to give up, or that one time she did. All that mattered was that she would be there when he woke up, her and nobody else.

Certainly not that Jounin brat, Hatake.

It was partly his fault that Naruto was in the hospital, but mostly it was Sasuke's in the first place. Shit, she snorted, didn't that brat get enough love? Naruto never had anybody to love him, ever since the day he was born, and Sasuke had such nerve to think he was the only goddamn one who knew what it was like to have everything taken from him. Naruto had everything taken, he had his mother taken, the pride of being the Fourth Hokage's son and his humanity, all when he was just a few minutes old. What did Sasuke Uchiha know? What did killing his brother accomplish? Obviously with Naurto, Kakashi, himself, Sakura, and Rabbit ending up in the hospital, not a damn thing. But at least Naruto was out of the coma, because then some good came out of the boy's ridiculous excuse for revenge. Hebi was finished, the lab was destroyed….

Tsunade grimaced weakly at the memory of what she and Tenzou had found at that place. When she saw Naruto, she threw up. When she saw what made the gaping hole in his torso, she fainted dead away. She wished she could have destroyed that hellhole with her own fists, but if she saw another drop of his blood again, she thought she would lose her very mind.

She had wanted to do a lot of things…like let Sasuke die in the hospital, because then it wouldn't be her fault, right? She didn't treat him, so if he died, all she would do was shrug and probably blink, but the bastard didn't deserve much else.

She wasn't young. Her stress always betrayed her looks. Seeing Naruto, dull, lifeless, energy-less, god, it scared her. It made her angry, sad, hurt, tired, and weak all at the same time. Stress to that degree would have killed a lesser woman.

But, she smiled to herself, she was the Hokage, the most powerful ninja in all of Konohagakure, and she wasn't going to be killed off so easy. She survived for Naruto, and in her mind, Naruto survived for her. Not for Kakashi. Not for Sakura. Because they didn't love him.

Sakura was a little bitch to him, Kakashi was ignorant and an unfeeling asshole, and Sasuke….well….

Sasuke was a bastard.

So much for being a team; a mistake she regretted every time her head hit the table. She should have listened to those old goat Councils and put Naruto on Team Shikamaru, instead of with a useless, overly-powerful airhead, a vengeful, traitorous bastard, and a lazy, perverted fuck. Damn it!

In a way she hated to look at, it was also partially, indirectly her fault. Nobody but her loved him, selfishly or otherwise, but it was more than he ever had.

And, she also noted, with scorn, that Sakura seemed to have gone home or something. It wasn't all that shocking.

For Sakura, guilt didn't sneak up on her the way it did other people. No. Guilt was piled on her, in great heaps that just kept coming until she snapped like the cheap link everybody knew she was under the pressure. That was why she had gone. Guilty. It was sad. She never cared, but to Sasuke she had an obligation, and not because she was even remotely thankful to Naruto. Because Sasuke wanted the boy to live, because Sasuke had his own strange motives, she wanted to be the useful person she had never been and do something that would make people watch her. Make him see her.

Guilt made her fail. Tsunade was disgustingly pleased by this.

It was sad, but it was reality. No shinobi in the world lived without guilt and claimed to be only _so good _like Sakura did. Sakura would have liked to think that she was the innocent one, the victim, when really, she was nothing of the sort.

Sakura Haruno was a jealous bitch. Tsunade's reason for training her had nothing to do with liking her. The girl may have been less than loyal in her prospects at becoming a ninja, but she was potentially useful to Konoha, and that was all. Tsunade was sure she would have been more useful had Naruto not been one of her teammates.

Naruto's and Sasuke's closeness, that freaky thing they had, irked her and made her blind and jealous and _stupid. _She didn't see that Sasuke's flaws greatly and obscenely outweighed Naruto's. She couldn't see anything but Sasuke. She refused to see how much Naruto wanted to make her happy, even if she didn't pine after him the way he did after her.

And so, she had gone home. Home where she could be happy and drop the charade she had been holding for two years. Home, to a place Naruto nor Kakashi for that matter, could go. She could do what they couldn't. She had that freedom. She wasn't trapped in a coma where the likelihood of her never going home again was 99.99 percent. She was much luckier than she deserved to be.

"I'm here Naruto. Wake up little brother, I'm here…"

* * *

'Anou sa, Kyuubi, now?'

'Not yet. Don't rush me, Kit.'

……….

* * *

He really didn't like that Enzo was going to be the nurse taking care of him since he woke up, and even more, he didn't like that she was keeping something from him. Something about Naruto.

She and the other nurse hadn't bothered to make their little conversation inconspicuous and he was sure it was to make him upset. Every now and again they would look at him and nod, as if to show that they definitely knew something they weren't telling.

He cursed the woman every chance he got, but unfortunately, Kakashi Hatake was a lot less imposing lying in a hospital be after waking up from a two year coma_ without _his Sharingan.

Not that he couldn't kill them if he could.

God, the least he wanted to do was slap Enzo, but Genma would more than likely try to kick his ass, and he really didn't need that crazy brute on his case when his little stay at the hospital was done.

"Shikato Nara says that now the boy's body is responding to the medicines and treatment." She said suddenly, in a quiet voice while she re-wrapped the bandages on his right arm and Kakashi looked up at her with something other than malice and hatred for the first time in four days.

He grunted his response, not wanting it to be obvious how happy he was at the news. She didn't need to know how he felt about Naruto's condition anymore than that, for who knew if she was just throwing him a bone or teasing him with a little something, only to torture him later.

"Just thought you'd have liked to know," She muttered.

"Now I do. Are you done yet?" He asked rudely, as if what she said meant nothing. She didn't have to know that it did.

"You care for him a lot, don't you?"

"If you're done, you can get out now."

He could lift his arm just enough to grab the telephone on the table near his bed and lob it at her pseudo-worried face. She would have done well to realize that.

"I know you don't want to show it, I just think that it's nice."

His hand itched towards the phone.

Kakashi wasn't a violent man by nature, but annoyingly inquisitive nurses could do that to a person.

And for the record, his concern for Naruto was not _nice. _It was none of her business.

The other nurse, which by pure chance, not that he was listening, he found that her name was Nurse Iwaya, whether that was her first or last name he didn't care, still hadn't stopped frowning, as if she were born with that displeased look stamped on her face. He had asked what the fuck she was frowning at every time Naruto's name came up, but she only managed to look even uglier when he did.

"You've been healing a lot faster than normal shinobi do…its actually very impressive and surprising. With the injuries you sustained, you shouldn't be progressing through treatment so fast, but Hokage-sama thinks that its about time."

Kakashi sighed. All he wanted to do was be alone right then, but apparently, neither of the nurses were afraid of him. They talked in his room about shit that didn't even have anything to do with patients, simply to piss him off, and it was working, because the next time it happened, he was going to do throw the nearest thing to him that wasn't soft at them.

He wished he had his book with him, at least then he didn't have to pretend to drown out their voices.

"They're giving him chakra treatments too, but for some reason it seems he doesn't need it. Like you, Hatake-san, he is also healing more rapidly than he usually does, what with…"

She didn't have to say anything more than that.

He was feeling better everyday, and wondered vaguely, if it had anything to do with the red chakra in his dream. Now that he was awake, and alive, his mind had instantly figured out who and what the redness was. In his dream, his mind wasn't allowed to drift so far but as he started to remember things he finally recognized it as Kyuubi. \

But what was the Kyuubi doing in his dream? And why did the dream not feel like one? It must have had something to do with Naruto. Having laced his chakra with Naruto's, anything could have been possible. If the Kyuubi had anything to do with it, then so did Naruto.

Naruto must have been Kit.

"Will they allow me to see him?" He asked stiffly, as nonchalantly as he could. It still came out sounding kind of desperate.

"No. Nobody but the Hokage and Nara-san are able to see him. There are direct orders for you not to see him especially."

Damn it, he cursed silently. Tsunade would do something like that! Back then, the lie had been somewhat necessary on his part, but if only he had stopped to think of what would happen in the long run. If he told them what really happened…

He probably would have been dead.

He had lost the Hokage's trust, and maybe Sakura's too. Definitely Sasuke's. He just really wished he hadn't lost Naruto's. He didn't know what he was going to do if he did.

Somehow, someway, he had to see Naruto and if he had to betray Tsunade's orders to do it, then he would in a heartbeat. He didn't have time for them to fully heal before he may have gotten lucky enough to see him passing by.

He had made his decision. As soon as he was able to walk again, he would go and see Naruto.

* * *

When he opened his eyes for the first time in lord only knew how long, he fully expected to see Kakashi.

When he saw the worried chocolate colored eyes of Tsunade, he closed them again, hoping that when he cracked them a second time, Kakashi's dull gray eye would be staring down on him. No such luck.

"Naruto…?" Tsunade's voice whispered. He opened his eyes again, his dry tongue intent on gathering some moisture to ask her a question but she was already bawling in his ear, babbling about how much she missed him and how happy she was and he couldn't help but try to smile, because he was kind of happy too.

He noticed that she was having a hard time leaning over him and looked down to see why. There was something on his stomach. Something glowing.

"Ts…Tsunade-saa, w-what's that?" His words felt as dry as sandpaper, but he managed to get them out from sheer curiosity at really wanting to know what the thing on his stomach was.

Tsunade looked down as well, and decided to ignore his question for the time being. All he needed was to know that someone was there and when the machine came off, maybe she would tell him what it was. In some disturbingly strange way, she was hoping he didn't remember a thing about what happened, and if he didn't, far be it from her to keep things that way.

She eased off of him and smiled sliding a hand across his forehead. God, she never thought the day would come. In all honesty, she had been on of the people that had given up albeit much later than Iruka. She couldn't bear to lose another important person and after too many months for extremely little change, she decided she wasn't going to stick around and wait for it to happen again.

She had done all she could, like she had done for Dan. She refused to watch him die, but didn't let up on her extensive tabs on him and his condition because it didn't hurt to hope.

When Shizune broke her office door in half with the news, she blared down the hallways and straight to him, so excited she didn't care who got hurt in the process. Naruto was alive! And now he was awake, after six days of watching him rest and she was the happiest she had ever been. Wherever Sakura went, no thanks went to her. Actually, she didn't know what it was that brought him out of his coma, it was a complete mystery to her and Shikato. Just like Kakashi.

It made her wonder if maybe Sakura wasn't delusional after all.

"Naruto, everything is alright, you'll be fine. Are you hungry or something?"

Naruto let out a small laugh, dry and raspy as it was, he couldn't help but realize something was way off about his voice. Deeper, more masculine.

"Baa-chan? What's…"

"Oh I know Naruto, it's amazing how much you've changed. I almost didn't recognize you myself." She said jokingly, but her mirth was dry with irony. He hadn't actually grown very much at all.

His voice had changed a bit, especially from lack of use, but for the most part his growth had been severely stunted by the treatments and damage to his chakra networks and he hadn't gotten more than a few inches taller. Two years would have done much more for him if he had been awake.

"Really?" He asked tiredly. That was good because he didn't feel so tall right then.

"You're healing great. I think you should be out of here in a few more weeks maybe sooner."

She knew the question was coming, she knew that if she talked about anything much more that he was going to ask, but when he did, she still had the decency to wince.

"He's going to be alright too. Uh…why don't you get some rest?"

He had been getting rest for a long time now, but he couldn't argue with her when his lids weren't backing him up. Tsunade's lips curled into a sad, worn smile.

What was she doing? If Naruto wanted to see Kakashi, who was she to take that away from him? Even if Naruto got hurt, she was sure she would have rather had him being angry at Kakashi than her.

She would bring him to see Kakashi in a few days, when he was well enough to keep his eyes open.

And Sakura may as well have not shown her face until Naruto was out of the hospital.

* * *

Naruto was giddy with excitement. He was getting to see Kakashi today!

Tsunade informed him that it had been two years, but he didn't feel a day older than he had back then. Smiling widely, he stared at all of the people he hadn't seen in so long, even the people he didn't know and never talked to as the Hokage wheeled him down the hall in his chair. Just a few turns and hallways to go, and he would see Kakashi!

Suddenly Tsunade stopped in the middle of a deserted hallway. Sticking her blonde head down into his face upside down, she said, "He can walk. You can't," with a smile.

Naruto was perplexed at this. What was that supposed to mean?

She continued to push him through the corridors and he allowed his thoughts to drift again. He would get to see his sensei, after all the time that had passed, and all the things that had happened between them. He blushed. That happened every time he thought of what happened when they last saw each other, ever though it was really depressing to think about sometimes.

Would Kakashi really be happy to see him? Did Kakashi miss him? Was Kakashi as excited as he was? God he hoped so!

"Whenever you're done spacing out, kid."

Who? He looked up.

The Jounin looked like a ghost had entered the room, shock plainly evident in his right eye and in the stretching of his mask where his mouth was supposed to be. Apparently, it was a surprise for both of them.

"….Naruto…"

The blonde boy would have jumped from his seat if he could. Instead he settled for letting his gaping mouth and wide cerulean eyes express his excitement.

Kakashi stood there, watching him with a look he had never seen before and his eyes filled with tears at the thought that the guy just might be happy to see him.

Shaking his head and smiling, he blinked slowly and picked his arm up. "Come here, Kakashi." With one finger, he made a teasing beckoning gesture, one he knew would take the strange look right off the Jounin's face. It worked and soon Kakashi's eye went back to being heavily lidded with boredom and that made him smile wider.

"He can walk Naruto. If you want…you guys can go home."

"Together?!" Naruto cried.

Well duh, they lived with each other, where else would he go?

Kakashi stepped up to him and waited for what Naruto was going to do, not wanting to show the Hokage how happy he was. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to show Naruto. It had been two years, but he was still Kakashi Hatake, the same man he had been even without the Sharingan.

"Come see me sometime, little brother." She was smiling at Naruto, but when her gaze got to Kakashi, it was a frown. "You know I'll kill you…"

Naruto covered his mouth half in resistance to laugh and half in guilt. He hadn't meant to get Kakashi in trouble. Tsunade said that all she would do was warn him and he was thankful that the powerful woman hadn't ditched her promise and decked his sensei just for the heck of it.

"Maa, Hokage-sama, I know." They all laughed at that, even thought Kakashi was only smiling, it meant all the same to Naruto who was happy to be alive and smiling at all. Tsunade kissed him on the forehead and rolled his chair around and in front of Kakashi.

"Don't ever make me come down there." At least this was said with a smile, and Naruto patted her hand and he was lead out of the room by Kakashi. Two years and three months a coma, and finally….finally he was going home. And with Kakashi.

Finally.

* * *

TBC…

Now THAT was NOT a cliffhanger, so don't get on my case about being evil. I really try hard not to be, but this time, I'm sure this was a nice end to a chapter. And for your reading pleasure, I made it longer, so don't bitch, m'kay? Lol, kidding. Ja'ne.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Sure wish I did.

* * *

A/N: Yes, another one of my rapid updates. I do those sometimes. Lol. So anyway, I was just enjoying my day off from work, which is the most boring thing in the world. I have to tomorrow. So enough about my misery. Here it is, enjoy it. 

Situational Hazard18

* * *

On the way home, Kakashi because of his pride and Naruto because he didn't want to get over-excited and misread Kakashi's mood, the silence became awkward and unfamiliar. Limping home with a bastardly headache and the source of all of his worries for the past week, he just wanted to get home and go to bed, even if he didn't let the boy he was wheeling know just how glad he was that he was alive and how much he missed him. He wasn't sure Naruto fully understood how he felt, but if the boy did, then he didn't have to worry about hurting his feelings. 

"Anou…" Naruto began. They hadn't said a word to each other since Tsunade released him in Kakashi's care, and he really wanted the awkward aura to disappear, even at the expense of ruining the Jounin's mood.

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi decided that if he were going to be taking the terribly long trip to their home, that the least he could do was make it somewhat less stifling, so he answered Naruto in a tired voice, the kind of tired that meant he really wanted to be sleeping at the moment. Seeing as he couldn't and Naruto wasn't exactly welcoming of the silence, he figured that he would answer a few questions and make the kid feel better.

"I'm really sorry."

Kakashi had to wonder where that had come from. What did he have to be sorry for? Getting kidnapped in the dead of night, tortured, hospitalized, and pushed home in a wheelchair? He had a lot to suffer for, but nothing to be sorry about.

"It's alright." He answered anyway.

Naruto nodded, even though Kakashi didn't see it. There were so many things he wanted to say, and most of them started with 'I'm sorry'.

'I'm sorry I ran away like a punk. I'm sorry I made you feel guilty. I'm sorry I got caught so easily. I'm sorry I'm so weak. I'm sorry you have to push me home when you're feeling crappy. But most of all, I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to make you feel better.'

When he had seen Kakashi for the first time in more than two years he wanted to jump into the man's arms like he used to. He wasn't much bigger, for reasons nobody bothered to explain to him---and he really wanted to know--- Kakashi would have caught him easily. Then again, he hadn't hugged Kakashi since he was twelve.

If he could stand, and not fall, he would have stopped Kakashi in his tracks and wrapped him arms around his waist and just hugged him. Kakashi wouldn't move, or react he knew, but all he wanted to do was let the Jounin know how sorry he was.

Then there was _that._ Which they had yet to talk about. Knowing Kakashi, the subject would more than likely be avoided like the plague. Maybe it was for the best. Naruto thought it was all his fault, but if Kakashi ever caught wind of that, he would probably lecture him about it.

Nothing more was said until they finally arrived home. He wondered why Kakashi wouldn't let him push himself, but was happy he wasn't asked to. He didn't think it would make a difference. He was dog-tired and he wasn't even moving.

Kakashi fished in the pocket of his pants and pulled out his new key. Opening the door, he pushed Naruto in, closed it, and before Naruto could move himself into the kitchen, Kakashi was in front of him, barring his way. He looked up at him with wide dark blue eyes filled with curiosity and his heart skipped a beat. Kakash kneeled down, staring into his eyes and leaned forward. Naruto held his breath, hoping against hope that Kakashi was going to do what he thought he was going to do.

"I really have missed you." He wasn't used to hugging people at all, it was just something he didn't do, but Naruto looked up at him and those eyes…he missed those eyes. The bluest blue, like Minato's, bright and big and beautiful. Kakashi was glad the boy wasn't born with those hateful green-gray eyes his mother had, because then he wouldn't look into them quite as often. He did what those imploring, begging eyes wanted him to do and pulled the teenager forward and into his chest. Like it belonged there, Naruto's head instantly settled into the crook of his neck and then there was a jerking movement that Kakashi would have mistaken for a hiccup if he didn't know any better. Naruto was crying.

He wasn't going to tell the blonde that it was alright, because nothing was ever alright. In the shinobi world, things were they way they were and if things were messed up, then that was the way it was. But Naruto was fine, he was always emotionally open and a bit emotionally retarded, but fine. Hn, he was one to talk. He smiled to himself underneath his masked and allowed his chin to rest lightly on a mass of soft blonde spikes. For a moment, he could stop being a shinobi and act more human for Naruto and just let him cry on his shoulder. Just once.

He would be lying if he said he felt sorry for the boy, because he didn't. He was too upset for that, even if he didn't show it. Fate was nothing to be sorry for and he couldn't sympathize, only one person had been able to do that, but he was glad it wasn't him. He did what he said he was going to do, and in the end Naruto had returned alive and he was thankful for that. Just once he would let Naruto know.

Naruto sobbed into the material of his mask and he sighed, not out of annoyance, but because he was relieved that it wasn't much worse. Kakashi had to hand it to him, Naruto was an exceptionally strong boy in his own right, more stable than most people ever bothered to give him credit for. He knew that only that kind of stability was fitting for a Hokage, but he wouldn't tell Naruto that just yet.

At the risk of sounding like Sai, "Routine normalcy is a good tool of adjustment when dealing with the aftermath of a stressing ordeal. I read that in a book." Naruto could manage that.

Just before the crying got too uncomfortable, he gently pushed Naruto off of him and smiled as much as he could without making his headache worse. Which didn't work anyway. Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and cleared his throat with a blush, looking away. Kakashi noticed this.

"Would that have happened two years ago?"

"Huh?"

Naruto was genuinely confused at the question, not knowing for the life of him what his sensei was talking about.

"Would you have blushed like that after hugging me? You used to do it all the time, and now that you've grown, the last thing I thought you'd do was blush like a schoolgirl." Naruto's eyes went dark.

"You're still a bastard! Augh, I can't believe this!" If he could have, he would have thrown his hands in the air and rolled his eyes. Kakashi tried not to laugh, but it was funny. He still had it.

"I was just saying, no need to get angry." Of course, there was perfect need to be angry because that was what Kakashi wanted and they both knew it. Still, it didn't hurt to play and make him feel more comfortable. Normalcy was just what they both needed and Kakashi had always been a man of consistency if nothing else. He would have to watch how far he went so as not to have a repeat of the last time they quarreled. Not that Naruto was capable of going anywhere.

"Too bad you're crippled. I really could use some miso soup tonight."

Instead of chucking something at the Jounin's head, Naruto tilted his own back and laughed. Kakashi ruffled his hair and stood slowly so as not to upset his now throbbing migraine. He really needed some sleep.

"I'm going to bed, do you think you'll be alright for the rest of the night?"

Naruto looked at him for a while before answering, not sure he wanted to use the witty comeback he had thought of.

"No, I'm okay, I think I'll manage. After all, I'm gonna be the Hokage someday, I can't let some stupid hospital thing ruin me."

Kakashi had to smile again at his always surprising ability to bounce back from just about anything. He wasn't sure if Naruto was saying it to make it seem as if he were himself, or because he really did still have that dream. In a few more days Naruto would be up and running again. He had never bothered to ask him about how his fox ended up in Kakashi's dream and healed them both or why, but he would wait a while before bringing anything up about it. By all rights, both of them, or at least him, should have been dead or worse but whatever Kyuubi did, he had to say, he was thankful to the demon fox. Tsunade hadn't gone into any extreme detail about their healing process, but she hadn't skimmed on the extent of their injuries and how lucky they were to be alive. He didn't know what she believed, but he knew what he saw in that dream and if he wasn't crazy, then the fox had everything to do with it. He didn't know why, wasn't sure he wanted to know, but Kakashi didn't like mysteries, especially when they involved his life. What if he was indebted to the demon? What if Kit had struck a deal with it in exchange for his life?

He was sure Naruto was Kit and all he had to do was test that theory out. How extensive of a relationship did the boy have with Kyuubi?

Well, he would wonder about it when his head didn't feel like he had been beaten by angry kunoichi.

Without even taking off his clothes, Kakashi fell down face first in his bed, relief, contentedness and fatigue all washing over him in relaxing little waves. He missed his bed, though there wasn't all that much comfort to it, it was familiar and welcomed. If anything, he had been truly able to be as comfortable as he was right then because Naruto was with him. Things weren't the same, and they were never going to be again, but there was some semblance of normalcy to a degree that even he could tolerate, and that was saying a lot because he never did like to be home. Right then, his bed could have talked and he wouldn't have jumped out right away.

* * *

Naruto, in his own room, struggled to get out of his shirt. He didn't want to say it back in the kitchen, but the way he was feeling, it was near impossible for him to relax without the heavy sedatives Tsunade had given him. She had an excuse as to why she had sent him home without, and whether it was valid or made sense or not, he wasn't really listening in the first place. Now he wished he had done a bit of begging then. 

Telling Kakashi that he wasn't going to be totally alright would only make the Jounin's obvious pain worse, and probably agitate him, the last thing Naruto wanted to do. Whether Kakashi knew it or not, he had greatly appreciated the small gesture at trying to make things seem as normal as possible by teasing him. Random as it was, it had still made Naruto smile, even as his abdomen protested the rising of his arms. He would deal with the pain, however long he had to until he healed and in the meantime, he would work on getting Kakashi to reiterate what happened in the tent that night. Was he really serious about wanting Naruto? Or was it a joke gone terribly wrong? Whatever it was, it wasn't something he was about to let go of especially since….

….he may have had deeper feelings for his silver haired sense than he thought.

In the beginning of their time living together, he could truthfully say that he liked watching Kakashi and his body simply because Kakashi was an attractive man. Over time his feelings had become what some people would call a crush, but he thought it was nothing like that at all. He liked Kakashi, but not the way he would like a person he had a crush on. Then he was taken by Hebi, and at times he thought he was at the end of his rope, emotions and strange thoughts went through his head about Kakashi. In otherwise case, he wouldn't have given his little thing for the man another thought. That night in the tent had marked something, but he had no idea what it was. Maybe Kakashi knew. Two years later, he was still unsure of what to think of his feelings. They were there, but they were still in translation. He never knew what it was like to feel for a person. Sakura was a crush, but that was so obviously different from what had been going through his mind for the past week since he had woken up. And before that. He liked Kakashi, not then, but presently, there was no denying it. But did Kakashi like him?

Pulling the shirt over his head with a grunt, he belatedly regretted telling Kakashi he would be fine. Taking his pants off was impossible. Not that he wanted Kakashi to take his pants off. Well…he'd never thought of that. He froze when he felt the telltale signs of a blush sneaking across the bridge of his nose. Did he have to think of that right then? Geez, it had been long, but it wasn't like he was missing anything. Not that this information stopped the annoying flutter in his gut.

"The heck is wrong with me?" He muttered to himself. At the moment he made up his mind to just sleep in his pants and shoes, and wait for Kakashi to take him back to Tsunade and see what they could do. Unless Kakashi was serious that night, in which case he would have had no problem taking off Naruto's clothes. The blush spread lower to his neck, turning his tan skin red at the thought of Kakashi on his knees, sliding his pants down his legs and off. Everything would be exposed. He wasn't wearing any underwear. It was a good thing he told Kakashi he would be okay.

How he was going to get from his wheelchair to his bed was a complete mystery to him. If he wanted to rip out his stitches he could have tried.

"How long are you going to stare at that bed and wonder how you're going to get in it?"

Naruto swallowed a startled yelp. How in the fuck did Kakashi keep doing that?! Shit, now he was screwed. Trying not to wince at the pain in his stomach, he took a deep breath, prepared to tell Kakashi whatever lie came to his mind first.

"Why are you in my room?" That was what came out instead. It wasn't like he could think of a good lie anyway.

"Because you must think I'm a fool."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto responded plainly, looking over at the farthest wall in his room to give off the impression that he was disinterested.

"Then go to bed."

"I'll go to bed when I feel like it!"

"You do."

"I'm not tired." He lied. Gods, all he wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep. He wanted to be in his bed more than anything right then. He wasn't going to tell Kakashi that though.

"Then why not at least get comfortable? What are you going to do, sit there and stare off into space all night long?"

"Maybe I will! What's it to you?" Naruto hissed, trying to cross his arms over his chest and almost throwing up at the sour pain that laced through his torso. Fuck.

Kakashi sighed. Naruto was still as stubborn as ever, but it was annoying sometimes. He had been watching him struggle just to pull his shirt over his head, and hissing in pain when he tried to go for his pants. It wasn't happening and they both knew it.

"Whether or not you get sleep is of no real concern to me. However, I do care if you're in pain. But we both understand why you didn't ask for my help, right?" Kakashi's voice was low and deep, but only because he really wanted to get his point across. He cared about Naruto. He wasn't going to say exactly that, but he did and Naruto really needed to stop being childish and let him help.

Naruto lowered his head. How the hell was he supposed to ask for help when A: He wasn't wearing any underpants and B: without sounding like a total invalid? He didn't want to ask a man he wasn't even sure really liked him to strip him naked. Shit! He really was going to be naked! He forgot he didn't have a shirt on, and if his pants went….

"I'm fine. I can do it on my own. You don't have to worry about me, I'm still tough."

"Of course you are."

"What are you doing?" Kakashi was walking over to him, not slowly, but not fast, just with enough determination that Naruto wished he could have backed up. He could have, but he wouldn't have gotten very far at all.

Kakashi didn't answer him, going down on one knee to attempt to lift the now sputtering boy's leg to relieve him of his sandals.

"I'm not wearing anything under these pants!"

Kakashi stopped what he was doing and didn't look up at him. Naruto blushed like mad, wishing that he could somehow inhale the words back into his mouth and pulled his foot back, but the Jounin didn't let go.

"Then that makes my job even better."

The blonde kitsune just stared at him. Kakashi wasn't looking, but he knew Naruto was gaping at him like a fish and it made him grin a little under his mask. He was so stunned that Kakashi was able to take both his sandals off and get his hands up to the boy's hips without Naruto noticing until he was forced to blink.

"Might want to take these off too." Kakashi mumbled, still not looking up.

"N-no. No, don't. I can do it myself. I---

"Is my little Naru-chan shy?"

"Who the fuck are you calling Naru-chan?! Are you high or something? No means no, or haven't you heard!"

"I've heard, I just wasn't listening."

"You goddamn---

"So are you going to let me take them off or not?"

"Not! Go back to your room! If you really wanted to help me, it wouldn't be by trying to molest me out of the remainder of my clothes, you perv!"

"Hey, you're the one who told me you weren't wearing any underwear. I'm supposed to just up and leave after hearing that?"

Naruto's brow twitched dangerously. "Kakashi, hand me that lamp over there for a second please?"

Kakashi turned to the lamp. "That one?" He pointed.

"Yes, that one."

"Hnn….no."

Naruto sucked his teeth. If only Kakashi were a tad stupider. "If you're going to help me, then just pick me up and put me in my bed."

"So when you have to take a shower---

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there!" His chest was starting to hurt, and he was so bloody tired, he was very well about to fall asleep right in the middle of his argument with the one-eyed asshole.

"Oh it won't be far now."

"Get out please. I'll help myself, somehow I'll manage. Just go away."

"Are you saying that because you believe that I'm playing with you?"

Naruto's expression went from a heated glare to a confused squint. What could Kakashi have possibly meant by that? Definitely not what he thought he meant, and yet, Naruto wanted to answer the question truthfully, because he was surprised to find that there was a chance that the man understood. Was he implying that he _wasn't _playing?

"Where did you get that idea from?" He asked carefully, eyeing the Jounin closely, who had yet to pick up his head and remove his hovering hands from the proximity of Naruto's hips.

"Oh, a little birdy told me." Kakashi explained laxly, finding whatever he wasn't doing more interesting than standing.

Naruto was quiet for all of three seconds before he realized that all the time Kakashi hadn't picked his head up was because he was staring intently at his patched up stomach.

"What the heck are you looking at my stomach that way for?! If you think I'm gonna just let this stupid hole make me a fucking invalid for someone to take care of then you're wrong! I don't need your stinking pity, okay?!"

Kakashi was actually taken aback by the outburst and Naruto, being the angry little thing that he was, actually found enough nerve to flip him the finger and spin his chair around to his bed, facing away from him. What in the world dived in his ass and choked? Nobody liked to be pitied, but when had he said anything about that?

"If that's the way you feel then I guess you'll just have to go back to the hospital where the nurses can clothe you, clean you, maybe they'll even---

"Fuck you, Kakashi, geez! I don't feel like playing any of your stupid games for your stupid amusement. Stay straight, date girls, and leave me the heck alone!"

Mm, now Kakashi was interested. And Naruto didn't have to know this either if he didn't want him to.

"You're not straight?"

Swallowing a groan of despair, Naruto closed his eyes. He was definitely _not _going to fall into that trap. If Kakashi wanted to play, he was better off finding some unsuspecting airhead kunoichi to swoon over his 'affections'. He wasn't aware that he was dropping ay such hints at not being straight, but now that Kakashi had mentioned it, he damn sure wasn't going to be the only one answering questions and suffering, if it were at all possible for the Jounin to suffer from embarrassment.

"Are you straight, sensei, hm? You seem to want to get me out of my clothes pretty bad, heh, I think you might actually want to see me naked."

Kakashi tilted his head to the side and smiled slightly. "That could be a possibility."

"That wasn't the question."

"But I asked you first, and besides, how rude is it to answer a question with a question?"

"Not nearly as rude as trying to mess with an innocent person's head!"

Ah, well, Kakashi was going to let that one slide. He wasn't playing, he just….testing the waters. He had every intention of finding out Naruto's preference, even if he had to be a prick about it because at least in the end the boy would know that he did it for his own good.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort Naruto, why would you say something like that?"

Okay so maybe he was a little thankful the seething teen didn't get his hands on anything sharp, otherwise he'd kill himself moving to dodge a kunai or something. His head still throbbed, but Naruto looked like he really could have used his bed sooner.

"I'm going to put you to bed now. If you want to go back to the Hokage, or leave, it's up to you. I have an idea. Why don't I just take you down to the bathhouses in town and let you wash there if not here? That way, you can just wheel yourself into the water—be careful not to drown---

"The public baths?! Hells no, Sai hangs out there! You know he likes to rape me with his eyes!"

Kakashi cracked a wide smile, only to experience the debilitating effects of it a second later. He remember quite clearly the black-haired ANBU boy sticking in as a replacement for Sasuke and that yes, it was true. Sai did get some strange sick sort of satisfaction making Naruto squirm at the mention of the blonde's penis. Many a time did Naruto get them all kicked out of onsens and bathhouses for attempting to murder the older ninja. A lot could have been said about Sai, but him being straight was not one of them. Why if that brat came sniffing around Naruto anytime soon, Kakashi would have to manually shove a Raikiri up the emotionless little prick's ass.

"Or I can wash you, seeing as—

"No thank you."

"---I'm your sensei, and if you can trust me with your life then you can trust me with your body."

Silence. The wall suddenly seemed like it would give him a much less aggravating conversation than the copy-nin was. At least plaster, paint, and wood couldn't make him turn such an impressive shade of red.

That sounded so wrong. Being who he was, Kakashi knew this full well. Naruto was free to interpret that however he wished and he would find nothing wrong with that at all.

"I can't even trust you with my dignity, the hell I have to, hey, what do you think yo---

"Go to sleep Naruto. You have a long day ahead of you. Remember therapy?"

Oh man! He had forgotten all of that, and he would have bet his health that it was for the better. There was this weird nurse that always felt the need to play 'patting' games. She always moved her hands lower every time he saw her. Creepy.

"You are a jackass," he whispered sleepily as Kakashi picked him up and stood.

'_I know'_

* * *

TBC…. 

Okay, maybe that was a cliffhanger, but I SWEAR I didn't intend for it to be. So, sorry it's kind of crappy, I didn't like writing this chapter. I'm going to start doing more time skips as I'm sure you've noticed to speed certain things along. In the mean time, I'm growing terribly bored of OMG Kakashi-sensei is hot! Why? Because, I suck at multi-chaptered fics and this one is the only exception. I'll try to finish it, but it's going to be a long wait. Dudes, I have to work from 8am-5pm on Monday-Saturday, I'm getting as much sleep and life living on as I can. Then classes start soon…..oh noes. This gives me extremely little time to type up some updates, but rest assured, if I abandon it, I'll notify everyone ASAP. So, enjoy this, yeah, I know you're all excited now that the teasing is back, which you can only hope inevitably leads to hot smex. Heh, I know you guys so well.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: No matter how many plot bunnies attack me, I still don't own Naruto. And that's sad, isn't it?

Dear goodness, yes, I am alive! I haven't died and gone to a place worse than hell, which would be my only reason for not updating ever again. Here I am, with Ch.19 (finally, right?!)

Enjoy kiddies!

* * *

SituationalHazard19

* * *

He was awake. His eyes were open, his mind was functioning with no morning haze whatsoever, he'd even stopped yawning. But he had a problem. A big one.

He couldn't get out of bed.

Groaning, muttering, hissing, and struggling wasn't getting him anywhere. Kakashi didn't have any missions, except to take care of him, which had to be _out of the question _because he could take care of himself.

Just as soon as he got to the bathroom.

When he tried to bend his waist to at the very least level himself up to sitting position, he felt a distinct tearing in his lower abdomen. A not-so-little tearing. He screamed.

Kakashi may not have been the most lively person in the morning, but he was a ninja and he was in Naruto's room in the blink of an eye, kunai in hand, to see the boy screaming in

agony, the white patch on his stomach spreading dark crimson with blood.

"Naruto!"

He yelling almost at the tops of his lungs, and it wasn't hard at all to see why. Kakashi didn't know just how hard Naruto was trying to get out of bed, but his efforts were obviously more than a bit strenuous.

"What did you do?!" He couldn't sound frantic if he tried, but angry was close enough.

The screaming was beginning to hurt Naruto's lungs, which were just in the right spot to hurt even more and he tried as hard as he could to steel himself against the pain as Kakashi rushed to his side, pinning him back down with a firm but slow hand into the mattress. He complied with a painful grimace and groaned, trying to slap Kakashi's hands away as soon as he was down. He didn't need that bastard's help, so what if he hurt himself? He would be fine, no pain, no gain, right?

"You're taking this way too far out of hand Naruto! If you need help, just say so!"

"But I don't! I don't need you Kakashi! I'm the reason you don't have your Sharingan anymore, I'm the reason everything got so bad in the village. Don't you get it? I don't even deserve to be alive, I'm just a---

It didn't take long for Kakashi to get fed up with that.

Naruto head snapped back and into the bed as Kakashi's hand whipped across his face. Stricken with surprise, he slowly righted himself and held a bandaged hand to his fast reddening cheek and looked up at Kakashi with wide eyes.

"What the---w-why'd you hit me?!"

Kakashi only glowered down at him for another second before he simply spun on his heel and stalked out of the room without another word. Naruto stared at his retreating back with shocked hurt.

* * *

"Why are you here?"

"I was hoping to see Kakashi or Naruto. Maybe I was hoping you could tell me where----

"You left."

Sakura hung her head shamefully, knowing without thinking that Tsunade was right, even though she wished she wasn't. It had been almost a month since she had heard that her two teammates left the hospital. It took all of her courage to slink into the Hokage's office and ask in the meekest, humblest voice where she might find her friends. Tsunade's eyes were dark with barely suppressed rage since the moment Shizune presented her with worried slowness. Sakura almost wished she had just gone through the trouble of finding them herself.

"I know…"

"So tell me again why you're here?" It sounded trite and tired.

She sighed. "Sempai, I know what it looked like happened, but you have to understand that I couldn't do it. I couldn't be there for them when everything that was happening was telling me that they were going to die. If I had stayed, I on---

"You didn't believe they would live."

After a moment of silence, "I didn't believe they would live." Sakura repeated.

Tsunade couldn't believe the gall the girl had, crawling back into her office begging like the little bitch that she was. What did she think would happen? She would just walk in and play the innocent kunoichi with her heart in her throat for her beloved teammates, the same one's she left in exchange for her own happiness? She shouldn't have had the right to allow herself such illusions.

"Did you find what you were looking for?

This time Sakura's eyes turned to dull green slits. The question was covertly snide in its implication, but she understood. "…No."

"I didn't tell them what you did. I can't stop you from seeing them. I won't tell you anything more than that. But Sakura Haruno," Tsunade stood from her seat and crossed the distance between her desk and the pink-haired girl with wide, calm strides. Leaning over, she put her mouth near Sakura's ear and whispered,

"If you hurt Naruto…"

Sakura gulped in spite of herself.

"I'll kill you."

She inclined her head slightly and staved the urge to back away in fear.

"Now get out."

Nobody needed to tell her twice, she was out the door before Tsunade could change her mind about letting her leave unscathed. Like the last time she had been in the Hokage's office worrying about Naruto's welfare.

* * *

When she was outside, she stopped in the middle of the road and looked around aimlessly. She didn't know where Kakashi or Naruto lived. For some reason they didn't live in the places they had lived in before. She had inquired about Kakashi moving out of the Jounin pads, seeing as nobody did that without the clearing of the Hokage, but nobody knew where he had gone. Naruto's residence was bare, as if he had packed and moved, nothing like the time he had gone to train with Jiraiya.

But she had nothing to worry about, because they were both alive and she would find them. Sasuke was impossible to keep track of as he had chosen his calling as a hunter nin and was on missions more often than he was at his own home anymore. There were so many things Kakashi and Naruto had missed while they were in the hospital and as their closest comrade, she wanted to take them out to eat and help them catch up.

It had nothing to do with guilt. All she wanted to do was treat them to a friendly meal and hope she didn't have to explain where she had been when they had woken up. Fine, she was a little guilty, but they were her friends and as a friend she wanted to be there again. At least they would be awake and talking.

"Sakura!"

Hope flashed through her at the sound of a familiar voice and she spun around to come face to face with Ino Yamanaka and her fiancé Chouji Akimichi. Her heart slumped a little but she smiled nonetheless at the first people who had smiled at her in months.

"Ino."

Ino's smile vanished.

"I saw…I saw Narut---

"Where?!" Sakura screeched, franticly spinning around, hoping to see the familiar blonde spikes and doofish smile. When all she got was a few worried stares in return, Ino put a calming hand on her shoulder and told her something in her ear. Chouji shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as the women talked and nodded. He never did like sad things. Since Asuma died, his own best friend hadn't really smiled anymore and Chouji liked to laugh and have fun. Nobody really did anymore. Everything that had happened after the years Sasuke returned was nothing but sad. He hated Sasuke for a lot of things. After all, it was his fault that Ino was now comforting a crying Sakura, making the already sad moment cause Chouji's stomach to turn. He wanted to go on about his business and at with his soon-to-be wife, not stand around and wait until Sasuke's number one fan stopped acting like a victim. Since when had anything happened to her? She didn't lose her best friend and sensei. And since when did she care about Naruto?

"Ino, I'm hungry can we go now?"

Ino gave him a disapproving glare from behind her shoulder but it softened when she saw that Chouji was looking longingly down the road.

"Sakura, I have plans right now, but if you need me to…to talk to, I'll be around. But Chouji…you have to understand, he hasn't been the same since Asuma died. He's a nice guy, and he doesn't want to cause any trouble. Alright?"

Sakura looked at him and grimaced deeply. She got it. Chouji hated her. The way she felt about Sasuke wasn't appreciated by anybody.

"Yeah, go ahead, I don't mind. I guess I'll just be seeing you around."

The taller blonde girl nodded and tried to smile, but her face shifted into an awkward half attempt that looked more like a scowl. Sakura flinched. Ino was just being nice. Chouji didn't even look at her as he almost hastily left his mate behind to catch up to him. That made sense, who wanted to be around a selfish person like her? Ino and her were never close, but Ino knew when being courteous wouldn't hurt, even though she wasn't inclined to be. Sakura wasn't sure if she was thankful for that, or if she should have felt even more sorry for herself than she already was.

And so she had seen Naruto. With Kakashi. Naruto was said to look unnaturally pale and Kakashi didn't look like a happy camper himself. She wondered if they were doing alright. If she could just see them again, and try to apologize for not being there when she should have been, then she could start over with them. They would almost be Team Seven again. At least Sasuke was on their side this time around. Except for Ino, it had been a long time since Sakura had a real friend. A very long time. Another chance with Naruto, and maybe she could have what she had been missing, and never again would she take it for granted. Not for Sasuke. Never again would she let her feelings for him get in the way of her happiness. Without realizing it, she had also sacrificed too much for her dark-haired teammate, she hoped it wasn't too late.

Maybe Naruto and Kakashi would join her for some ramen. She hoped she wasn't too late.

* * *

"He's healing already, Kakashi why did you bring him here?"

Kakashi's face remained stoic. "It's what he wanted."

Tsunade's eyes glinted at him from above her paperwork dangerously. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to make him upset?"

The boy in question was with a nurse having his wound re-stitched and cleaned under heavy sedatives, which he looked a bit too happy to be receiving. Kakashi's jaw twitched under the mask. "I'm sure."

"I'm going to give him chakra threaders. Those are to patch his chakra up so that he heals properly without relying solely on the fox. His chakra is attempting to heal around his wound, almost as if it can regenerate through the void in his abdomen. I've been working on the threaders specifically for him. Soon he won't be able to feel the pain, but the wound will have trouble healing on it's own, even with the fox's help. Look Kakashi, either you're able to take care of him or not. If there's a problem then let me know now."

"Hokage-sama, I assure you, I'm not the one with the problem. I respect him, that's why we're here."

He really hadn't meant to hit him. It all happened before he could stop himself, he hadn't even intended to do it. But Naruto saying such…ridiculous, such blasphemous nonsense, it had just gotten him so angry. How dare Naruto believe any of that shit? How dare he be so blind to how much Kakashi cared for him? How dare he think that his ordeal was a burden on Kakashi, and how dare he deny himself the right to be alive?

"Go home Hatake. He'll be in my care until further notice." Tsunade said with an unquestionable air of finality. Kakashi stare helplessly at her. He turned to go with a sigh and closed his eyes but stopped hearing the woman's voice.

"Did you really….did you kiss him, Hatake?" A low, almost woeful whisper, hopeful for denial, yet ready to rise in indignation.

And Kakashi did not need to lie then. "No." he told her abortively, and stiffly walked out the door.

* * *

Naruto cringed when the nurse pressed the innocuous looking sponge into his raw red abdomen, the skin teeming in agitations. His eyelids were heavy with the tug of sedatives, but he wasn't ready to sleep just yet. As grateful as he was for the excuse to be lethargic, he wanted to see Kakashi. He had been slapped by this man, but more than anything he wanted Kakashi to stroll in that door and be there. He wanted to apologize---again, for what he had said. He hadn't meant to be so fragile and bitchy, but….he just didn't know. All he knew was that someone had to take the blame for what happened and who better than the _idiot _who got himself caught thinking about a man more than twice his age who couldn't _possibly _love him the sam---

Wait a minute, who said anything about love?!

Naruto stopped in the middle of his wincing to gasp in wide-eyed horror. Did he really….love Kakashi? Like that? As in, I-like-you-more-than-like-you-more-than-like-you, love?

"Oh God."

The nurse looked up in alarm. "I'm sorry did I hurt you Uzumaki-san?!" The poor thing was frantic all of a sudden standing up with her hands held out defensively, like the world was going to end if she hurt one of her patients by accident.

"No, no I'm okay." He tried to reassure her, really not wanting to her the profuse apologies if it meant he couldn't think in peace.

"I could be gentler, it just that I thought you might like it if I---

"Please be quiet." He whispered softly. A little silence was about to go a very long way for him he realized when the nurse frowned and suddenly looked as if she swallowed something sour.

"Mr. Uzumaki, I was only trying to be nice, no need to get nasty."

Naruto sighed belatedly. If it wasn't one thing it was another. When were people going to get over themselves?

"Sorry." He mumbled shortly. He swore if he didn't get out of there and see Kakashi soon he was going to lose his mind. He didn't know what he was going to say when he got back home, or if Kakashi would even welcome him back, but he had to start somewhere, and if letting Kakashi help him through the most embarrassing moments of his life was going to get his feeling to become a little clearer, then he supposed he would just have to make that sacrifice. But only because he cared about Kakashi, who seemed to have cared about him. He was just confused was all. Love was something he had never felt before, in any way so it shouldn't have come as a surprise that he used the term so loosely. He didn't love Kakashi. He just liked him liked him. A lot. Well, that wasn't so hard. Only now he wanted to know if Kakashi could possibly like him the same way. Then what? Could Naruto fall in love with him? Would that be so bad?

"When can I see Kakashi-sensei?"

"Not until you're fully healed will I release you back to him." Came the voice of Tsunade from the doorway. Without looking up Naruto firmly pressed his lips together. It made sense. But he wished it didn't. Hopefully he'd heal soon so he could go home and watch Kakashi. If he couldn't get Kakashi to see how much he liked him, then Naruto would just be satisfied with watching him. It was kind of freaky, but he was never normal to begin with anyway, so who cared. On top of thinking it was odd that none of his friends ever came by to see him in the hospital, he had a sneaking suspicion that Tsunade had something against Kakashi and he didn't know what it was. Somehow asking didn't seem like the right thing to do to find out.

"When do you think that will be?"

"That eager to get back to lover-boy?"

"What?" Naruto hadn't quite caught the last part of the question.

"Nothing." Tsunade smiled, because if Hatake indeed didn't kiss Naruto, then the boy might have been better off not knowing why he said that he did, which was still entirely a mystery to her. Interrogating Kakashi was like questioning a brick wall with a disturbing sense of humor, nevermind the fact that sometimes, despite his terrible excuses for his tardiness, it was hard to tell whether the brat was lying or not.

Nobody said implications and assumptions were out of the question, which was exactly what she intended to do.

"So you like living with that bra—err, I mean Kakashi?"

Naruto gave her a quizzical look and shrugged, pulling his arm out of the nurse's hand to scratch his head habitually. "Uh… it's not like I have a choice."

Tsunade crossed her arms and stepped over to the table he was sitting on, nearly shoving the little nurse out of the way with her intimidating form. The nurse tried to act as if she weren't affected by the scary blonde Hokage by slowly stepping around the woman to finish what she was doing, but one harsh glower from Tsunade and unbeknownst to anyone in the room, she squirted a bit in her underwear out of pure fear and quickly backed away, tripping over her feet to get out the door. Tsunade smirked a bit and turned her attention back to Naruto, looking him over carefully. A little prodding wouldn't hurt.

"What do you think about him Naruto? Do you like him? Is he a bastard like everyone says?" Of course he was a bastard, but to anyone Kakashi claimed to have kissed, lies or not, he could have been something totally different in their eyes.

Unfortunately, sometimes Naruto was just honest for his own good. What he had meant to say was, "Of course I hate that bastard!" but what came out was,

"I'd really like to know what's under that mask." At that, Tsunade's mouth curled up into a dangerous grin normally reserved for Shizune and unsuspecting nin who had managed someway or another to piss her off. Shizune loved that stupid little pig she always had with her, and when Tsunade was feeling vengeful, with the same smile she was sporting to the now awkward looking Naruto, she threatened to make a delicious little dish out of the fat little thing if it she didn't have her way. So Kakashi was something of interest to Naruto, was he?

"Really? Why?"

She was unnervingly close all of a sudden and Naruto believed he had a reason to be wary. "Who doesn't?"

"I don't."

"That's because you're old." Naruto mumbled distractedly, not noticing the thick, twitching vein that protruded dangerously from the Hokage's head.

"I'm going to ignore that, you little shit. Now, tell me why YOU want to see what's under his mask. What do you think you'll find?"

He frowned uneasily and squirmed like an uncomfortable four year old, wondering what his opinion of what he thought was under the black cloth Kakashi always wore on his face had to with when he was going to see the man again.

"Why are you asking me all this?"

Tsunade's eyes widened in mock confusion as she held a hand to her chest, attempting to look baffled by his 'accusation'. "I'm concerned about you! Besides, brat, if I didn't ask you these questions, who else would."

"Nobody works for me."

If she slapped him across the head, how much would it hurt?

"So?"

"So?"

"What do think is under his mask?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be wondering!" He snapped. What was with all the questions? Why did she care so much what he thought about his teacher, or what was under that ridiculously cliché mask?

"Don't get cute, brat! I was only trying to understand you interest in wanting to go back with him so bad."

Naruto exhaled wearily. He supposed that if he had to say something, he would make it worth it to the old bat so that he could just get her out of his room and count the minutes until he would get to see Kakashi again.

"In the beginning, when he found me and offered me a place to stay, I couldn't think of anyone worse to live with. Kakashi is…he's like a totally different person from everyone else, and it takes a lot of patience and understanding to be able to tolerate him. There are some conclusions I've come to since I returned, Baa-chan. I don't think there is another person alive who understands him better than I do. At first I thought he was just a lazy perverted bastard, and I still do, but after a few months of living with him, I realize that that there is more to him than that and that he takes great care to hide these things." He paused for a while, sstaring down silently at the sheets, as if carefully contemplating what he wanted to say next. Tsunade stood patiently, arms crossed, ears open and watching him with hard brown eyes, just waiting for him to say something that would give her a reason to hunt the Jounin down.

"I know I think I know who he is, but I don't. I wish I did. I don't know what he's been giving me, but I find myself being satisfied with it. You know, on the outside he's perverted and lazy and sometimes kind of cruel, but I don't think I want to know what he's really like. If there's some reason you don't like him, it might be something bad, I don't know. I…I like him the way he is. He doesn't make me feel like I'm being pitied. He doesn't make me feel like I'm a burden. Maybe he's doing a great job of fooling me, but that's alright. False happiness is better than nothing. The nothing I've suffered with for my entire life before I met him. I hadn't realized how much he meant to me until I was gone." Naruto eyes glistened emotionally, but he had a wry smile on his face and for a moment Tsunade was worried but he let out a laugh and continued.

"I thought I was going to die. I was certain. When you're as close to death as I was, you start to see that the little things in life are always the most important. Without them things are never as important as they seem to be. Kind of like interdependency, without little things, the big things will always be taken for granted and never appreciated like they should be. I noticed that the things I once swore that I hated about him were the things that I missed the most. A lot of things went through my head while I was lying on that needle. Strangely enough, I didn't once think about Sasuke, or Sakura, or even you Tsunade-baa-chan. Nothing was more important to me in my last moments of life than him. I still don't know why. He never showed me that he cared, he never showed me if I made him proud, he never even taught me anything worth knowing. But he opened his home to me, he gave up his precious solitude and space so I wouldn't….I don't know if he did it as his obligation as a sensei, but he gave me more than _anyone _has ever given me. I don't deny that I feel differently about him because of that and I won't say that what I know I feel is justified, only that for some reason, right now, he's more important to me than anything else in the world. Who knows where I would be, what I would be doing, or if I'd even be alive if he hadn't let me stay with him. That's why I want to see him. Being with him makes me happy. It's hard to think about what we've been through and not want to cry and blame myself. I can't help but think that ce hadn'ertain things are my fault. I told him that, you know. He didn't want to hear it. What does that mean Tsunade-san?"

Tsunade's arms had dropped from their defiant pose and calmly descended to her sides before one hand came up to tug nervously at a pigtail, the kind of thing she did when she was emotionally stunned. She didn't know what to say to Naruto. She didn't know what it meant. She hadn't realized the extent of the feelings he had for the man she held contempt for simply because Naruto was unhappy. Kakashi was his sensei and he never should have been unhappy to begin with. She hadn't been in Naruto's life as long as she would have liked, but she knew Minato and he should have been taken care of a lot better than he was. Kakashi knew that.

"I'm not sure, little brother." She only called him that when she was serious and worried, which it was obvious that she was both at the moment. He still hadn't looked up but the smile was gone.

"So when are you going to let me see him?"

She gasped at the question, but caught herself and turned it into a short sigh. She still didn't want to let Kakashi anywhere near Naruto. How could she say no to anything that would make her younger brother happy? All of his life he had been denied happiness for reasons he didn't understand for twelve years, how could she, someone who had the luxury of family, if even for a short time, deny him his birth right to be happy. She would never.

"I'll talk to him about visiting you. Naruto…."

He looked up expectantly, almost too excited for what she was about to say.

"I want you to be happy with whatever satisfies you but you know I won't let you---

"I know." Naruto said softly, holding a hand up to silence her. "He doesn't feel the same way, he might not want to visit me, but the only thing that has kept me alive this long is hope. I won't let myself down by not trying. My life is built on disappointments, rejection and unhappiness. If he doesn't reciprocate my feelings, then I'll find a way to live with it. Remember, it's nothing new at all."

That was sad. Tsunade didn't like the outlook he had on his life. It was too disturbingly accurate. In the shinobi world, ninja didn't allude their lives to fantasy worlds, and Naruto had more reason than anyone in Konoha to wish for something better. She was thankful he knew the difference.

"No, I guess it's not."

* * *

TBC…..

OHMYGOD, GUYS, I'm SOOOOO sorry that took so long to get out. But my motivation was shot to pieces by the start of classes. But I promise I won't abandon this fic, don't worry. It might take a while to update, but I hope everyone's still interested. I think I'm officially done with OMG, Kakashi-sensei is hot. I just don't have the drive to finish it, sorry guys, I think what killed it was that it was turning into some weird SasuNaru, which I despise. I'm working on other fics, but I'm lazy and busy and always tired, but I'll finish this and move on to other things. I don't know how close to being finished with this, but things are actually only getting started between Naruto and Kakashi. I had to create an emotional door. Don't worry, it won't be long before one of them opens it. Anyway, hope you enjoy this and thank you again for all the reviews so far. Ja'ne!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: If I didn't own it then, I don't it now, and for the future, I'll never own it. Naruto is not mine.

A/N: Come and get it my little rabid readers!

* * *

Sasuke never did like Naruto.

The boy was annoying, and loud, and stupid, Sasuke couldn't think of a person he could have disliked more. He had reasons to not like Naruto, lots of them in fact.

So why the hell did he care that that child-molesting bastard Kakashi was out of the hospital with Naruto? So what if Kakashi kissed him? Naruto was old enough to take of himself. So why did he care so much? Why did he want to stick his katana down his old sensei's throat the next time he saw him? Why did the thought of Naruto's innocence being taken away plague him so much?

It was true that the blonde was his best friend, but their kind of friendship was nobody else's idea of friendly. Their friendship was rivalry, insults and violence, but it was built on one thing: their similarities and ability to understand one another better than anybody else. They were alike in more ways than a lot of people ever bothered to realize.

Even though nobody else saw it, Naruto had an avengers streak very much like his own. If he had anything to lose, he would do anything to get it back or give its loss some kind of meaning. People don't understand that that was all Sasuke was trying to do when he went off to kill Itachi. He didn't want his parent's confidence in Itachi to be cast aside the way it had been for nothing. Sasuke had always envied his older brother for the praise he received from the people that mattered the most in _Sasuke's_ life.

Then that bastard took all of his hope, all of his chances away from him. The reason was so blasphemous, so evil, so cursed and so damn unjustifiable and it had to be dealt with. If Sasuke didn't do it, then it only meant that the Uchiha clan was not even as strong as his older brother and Sasuke's entire childhood was based on being better than Itachi. He couldn't allow his life to end the way Itachi wanted it to. Naruto, he was certain, because he knew the boy that well, would have done the same thing, albeit a bit differently.

Differently because Naruto was kind where he was not, because Naruto was forgiving of some things he was not, and because Naruto was Naruto, and he did not have the same killer instinct Uchihas had and that was where their similarities ended.

So why did he give a flying fuck if his rival was being molested by their sensei?

_Is he being molested? Did that have anything to do with _them_ being able to get him?_

Sasuke never did like Kakashi.

They were not alike in any way, shape, or form. They both had Sharingan, but so did Itachi, and Sasuke was _nothing _like Itachi Uchiha. Why Kakashi chose to train him instead of Naruto was nothing he concerned himself with, until after he found out what Naruto had inside of him.

Then he concluded that Kakashi was afraid.

Afraid to lend anything to the power growing inside of Naruto, afraid that if he gave Naruto too much, that Naruto would find a way to hurt him. At least, that's what Sasuke thought. What did Kakashi have with Naruto now that made everything so different?

Whatever it was….

Sasuke didn't like it.

Kakashi had given up almost everything he had to save Naruto, and what for? Why did he suddenly care so much for a person he and Sasuke had discussed one day 4 years ago wasn't important enough to waste time on? Kakashi had said those words to him that day on top of the Hokage tower and it made Sasuke's blood boil because the way he said it made him sound too much like Itachi.

_'Naruto will never have the power to overcome the obstacles he needs to overcome for a shinobi to survive. He lacks real desire, everything is just a game to him. That's why...'_

Sasuke only grunted. What did he care what Kakashi thought of Naruto? He didn't care when he met Naruto and he didn't care when he left.

But what Kakashi may have been doing was just wrong. When Naruto had fought so hard to keep him away from Orochimaru because he was using him, the obligation to return the favor---no, that's not what it was—Kakashi was using him. Had to be.

_'The Hokage is way out of his league. If he were more serious like you are Sasuke, then he could be a great shinobi. But he isn't.'_

Kakashi always gave him praise, directly and indirectly, so why all of a sudden did he take an interest in Naruto? And it wasn't a tactical interest. Or was it? But to what end?

Naruto may have been a lot of things, and may have been deserving of a lot, but Sasuke knew Naruto better than anyone and Naruto didn't deserved to be played with.

If he found out that Kakashi was messing with his dobe to gain some sort of sick advantage or anything like that, he was going to slit his throat.

Sasuke ran a rough hand through his hair and blew air out with a puff of his cheeks in confused exhaustion.

Just what the hell had happened in that tent?

Years had gone by, and Sasuke wanted to maintain his lust for revenge by staying away from Kakashi. At least until the right moment. Because he was not like Itachi.

In time, the silver-haired deceiver would meet his end.

* * *

Who said anything about her being crazy?

She was in there for her baby. For her precious baby.

They tied her down to her bed so she wouldn't hold the child too much. They stuck her with needles three times a day so she would get the sleep she needed to keep up with her son, for he was always a handful. They made her swallow pills so she would be healthy and live long enough for her boy to grow up.

Not because she was crazy.

Oh how she missed Naruto.

The baby didn't have his aqua-colored eyes, or his bronzed skin, or his soft, spiky golden locks, no. He had the dark, emotionless eyes of an Uchiha, not the almost colorless eyes of a Hyuuga. He had pale, nearly poreless skin and blue-black hair that sprouted out of his head in short, fuzzy tufts. But Hinata loved him anyway.

Sasuke never saw the baby. Didn't even come to see her. She didn't care, because when Naruto was out of the hospital, he would come to see her and her baby.

She just knew he would.

He would see her beautiful bundle of joy and smile at them and they would live happily ever after. It was that simple. Because Naruto loved her, and she counted the days to when he would come and visit, even though she wasn't sure when the days ended and began, she felt it in her heart that it was nearing closer, that soon Naruto would be there.

He would open up the heavy, steel, sealed door to her home and enter the room like a ray of sunlight she hadn't seen in so long and hold her. Nobody held her, unless they were holding her down so that she wouldn't waste too much energy moving around, but she didn't like that kind of holding. She wanted to be held the way only Naruto-kun could hold her.

She wanted to be held like she wasn't crazy. She wanted a hug that would make her father disowning her seem like so much less than it was. Because she wasn't crazy, she was fine.

She had to be.

And so she waited.

He would come.

* * *

Naruto was eating his soup, his bland, noodleless soup, when all of a sudden Tsunade said something that made him involuntarily spit it out.

"I take it you haven't heard that Hinata had Sasuke's child."

Soup dripping from his chin and down his neck to stain his shirt, he quickly put the bowl down and let his mouth fall open in shock.

When the heck had that happened?!

"It probably wouldn't mean all that much to you, but you and Sasuke….I know you'd have wanted to know and well, Hinata….I'm not sure you ever knew how she felt about you."

Naruto shook his head and raised and hand to stop her. He needed time to gather and process all he had heard, Tsunade just couldn't rush through such important things like that. Sasuke had a baby? Hinata had feelings for _him_? What was that all about?

"Naruto…she's in an insane asylum." She said with an exasperated sigh, like Naruto didn't understand what her previous statement meant. He stared owlishly at her.

Hinata-chan, the shy Hyuuga girl that always turned red and fiddled her thumbs when she saw him was….crazy? He couldn't believe it. And with Sasuke? That just seemed…. wrong. Very, very, very wrong.

"What did he do?" He grit as calmly as he could through his clenched teeth. "What did that _bastard_ do to Hinata-chan?!"

"Calm down Naruto. Sasuke actually did nothing. I understand that she's in there because of you."

Naruto stop his enraged tirade and grimaced in confusion. Him? What had he done to Hinata? He barely even talked to her!

"I don't understand. What?"

"There isn't much to understand. She is obsessed with you, you never seemed to notice, Sasuke tricked her into having his child, you were in the hospital, she couldn't handle hearing about your condition and she…snapped."

"Snapped?" Naruto asked timidly. Maybe he was afraid of the answer. Tsunade nodded sagely. Naruto really had no idea what type of affect his disappearance had on certain people. When she got to Iruka, she was almost sure he would hurt. She wasn't telling him to hurt him, but because those kinds of things were dragged through the mud by other people, and if he had to find out, it was better that she told him.

In the shinobi world, reality was everything.

"Yes. Other things have happened since you've been in the hospital. Iruka Umino---

"Iruka-sensei?! What happened?! Is he alright?! Did he go crazy too?!"

"No, Iruka is quite sane. It's just that, well since he heard about what happened to you he…"

"He what old lady?! Tell me!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temple. Being called an old lady was getting….old. "He's a Jounin Naruto. He's out on missions more than he's at home. You know, at his age, there a---

"_A_ _JOUNIN?!_ _WHYYYYY?!"_ Naruto wailed. Everything bad that could possibly happen without anyone dying was happening and it was all because of him!

"Naruto, it was his decision, one which he thought long and hard over. I'm sure he----

"He should have thought harder! I wanna see Iruka-sensei!"

"STOP CUTTING ME OFF!" The Hokage slammed her fist into the volatile boy's head angrily. Little brat! Always calling her old and not letting her finish what she had to say, the nerve of him!

"Anyway as I was saying…" She continued, dusting her hands off as he rubbed the huge lump on his head. "I can tell you in a nutshell all that has happened, but you would be remiss to think that all of it is your fault. Iruka became a Jounin, I would say it's about time. Hinata's been put away by her father, nobody is entirely sure if it was because she's crazy. Sasuke joined the Hunter-nin. Neji is in ANBU, Kiba is also a Hunter-nin, Lee is a Jounin, and Ino and Chouji are getting married. Things change Naruto. Nothing will stay the same forever. Yes, some things are a direct result of what happened to you but---

"What about Sakura?"

Tsunade got quiet. Naruto's eyes slitted with nervous suspicion. "She's…she's alright, isn't she?"

Tsunade shrugged and looked away with an indignant pout. "She's fine. Couldn't be better."

Naruto was confused. If Sakura was fine…."Why didn't she come visit?"

She knew it was coming, how could it not? But she wasn't going to answer him with what she thought, she would allow Sakura herself to dig through that hole.

"Don't know."

Why didn't Sakura come to visit him? Was it something he did? Was it something he said? Was she out on a mission?

"Oh…so is she coming today?"

"She asked about you and Kakashi. I told her she could see you anytime she wanted. She doesn't know where you live, but I suppose if you'd like I could send for her." Tsunade didn't want to send for her, but if Naruto wanted to see her, and it made him happy then why not. She would simply keep her not so generous opinions to herself.

"That'd be nice, Tsunade-san." Leave it to Naruto to know just the right moment to be cute.

"And I'll send for the copy brat too."

"Yay!" Naruto's foxy grin widened mirthfully.

* * *

Tsunade could always be counted on to be two things: vindictive and a total bitch. Unfortunately, the blonde powerhouse was what stood between him and Naruto.

Usually, he managed to escape the Hokage's brashness with what he called 'Icha Icha evasion'. He would either retreat into his book when her tone wasn't pleasant, or imagine retreating to his book, either way, he always heard what he wanted to hear. If it wasn't about a mission, then it wasn't important. She found his behavior to be uncouth and ignorant like a child and not a Jounin. Needless to say, that was the impression he was going for.

However, when people attempted to control his personal life, things always promised to get ugly. Naruto was his personal responsibility, and Tsunade, was the Hokage. Kakashi was not a medical nin. Coincidentally she was one of the best. What else was he supposed to do? Now she had Naruto and refused to let Kakashi see him. '_The nerve of that bitch'_, he thought bitterly.

That wasn't the way things were going down. He was going to see and speak to Naruto before the day was out. It was only noon, he had plenty of time to plot and plan and mutter particularly uncivil things about her. And there was no time like the present.

Kakashi was sneaky and he knew it. All ninja were supposed to be stealthy, but Kakashi made sneaky look very professional.

But first he was going to go home and take a nap. He had been sleeping off the headache he had gone home with and his eye was killing him. The new eye he had was the same color as his other eye and was in perfect proportion. It almost looked normal.

Too bad it felt like hell.

He kept the hitae-ate over it. Tsunade told him that he would be in pain for four days because of his lack of use of the new eye, something about it needing to adjust to the replaced optical settings of his brain. That was all he had heard because he retreated into Icha Icha land.

She had offered medicine to help the pain along, but Kakashi Hatake didn't do medication so he politely declined. She gave him a look and opened her mouth and he was back in Icha Icha land.

He took his time walking home, ignoring the looks certain ninja were giving him. Everyone had heard what he happened and usually he went out of his way to avoid the looks and the whispering and the questions and the false concern, but he couldn't very well _jump _the rooftops in his condition.

His head throbbed like the beating a silent drum but he walked faster, wishing distantly that he lived where he used to because it was closer. It would be the first time in a long time he would be home alone. He wondered how Naruto felt. His eyelid drooped. He was so tired, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep. He couldn't plot while was in as much pain as he was in, hell it even hurt to think.

Long sightless, oblivious minutes were spent walking home and when he finally opened the door he made his way to the couch and collapsed. He missed, but by the time he hit the floor, he was out like a light.

* * *

Stupid pills tasted like shit.

"Stop being a brat and swallow them they aren't that bad!"

"No? Have you tried them?" He gagged to get the unnaturally large pill down his aching throat.

"That's not the point!"

He didn't want to spend anymore time lying under the glowing machine and swallowing pills the size of a 100 yen coin. He wanted to see Kakashi. What was Kakashi doing? Was he at home? Was he eating? Was he sleeping? Did he miss Naruto? Was he still mad at him?

"I need to see him, Tsunade-san." He told her in a low, desperate voice. How long was he supposed to wait?

"Soon Naruto. But right now you have to---

"I love him." He blurted out.

She balked at the sudden confession. She twitched. Her eyes narrowed, then softened. Then she looked down and sighed. Naruto loved that brat.

"You do?"

"What?" He asked, as if he forgot what he said.

Her teeth almost cracked from being ground together so hard. "Do you really love him?"

Naruto sighed irritably. "I want to see him. Now."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yes I did."

"You didn't. Did you really mean what you said?"

"What did I say?"

She stared at him.

What kind of game was he playing? She knew what she had heard, but he was acting as if he said no such thing at all. Why?

"You said that you loved him?"

"I did say that, didn't I?" His smile was sunny and wide. "So when can I see him exactly? Now? 'Cuz I'd like that a lot."

Tsunade was worried. Very worried. How did it happen that her young, under-age surrogate brother had fallen in love with a grown man? A pervert no less? And Kakashi? Mr. Asshole himself. Lazy, boring, mean, sarcastic Kakashi? The same mysterious, porno reading genius who was always chronically late and had a habit of being terribly annoying without even speaking? What could be the result of loving a man like that?

What the hell was so special about him?

"Why do you love him?"

Naruto put a hand over his face. He did _not _want to talk about it. Not with her. Not with anyone. Not even with Kakashi. "Don't ask."

"I already did."

"It's a secret."

She did not throttle boy. She did not wrap her hands around his neck and squeeze, and she did not yell at him. She really wanted to. But what would that accomplish?

"Rest, Naruto. Rest, and when you wake up, he'll be here."

TBC…..

I know, almost a whole month after my last update, but I was working on something else for you guys. I can't post it until this is finished because it's not a one-shot and I promised myself. And I'm also working on a fanfic with someone else, and when I post it, I hope you'll all come and read it. I'll let you guys know when I do, and hope that you review. Updates will be few and far in between, but they'll get there when they do. I know this one was unsatisfying, but I was just answering to some of the things you guys wanted to know. I'll elaborate more, but I don't want to go too far. I still don't know how long this fic is going to be, because I suck at ending stories. Some reviewers keep telling me that it would be nice if Naruto was being haggled over by Sasuke and Kakashi or to put Itachi in there or something. No. Not ever. Please don't ask. This is strictly a KakaNaru, there will be no other pairings. Sorry to burst your bubble.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note: OMG guys! I really am sorry for having you wait this long! But I have so much going on, I try to update when I can. But Spring Break is here and I'm going to try and make the most of it. I hope you guys are still interested or am I jut being paranoid? Heh, well I hope you enjoy this chapter, don't worry, the next one will be everything you guys were hoping for. Also, I'm thinking about resurrecting OMG Kakashi-sensei is hot! because now I know where I want to go, alas, I still don't have much by way of incentive, but I'll try my best to get on it.

Disclaimer: This does get annoying, but what the hey, for old times sake, I don't own Naruto, some awesome japanese man named Masashi Kishimoto does. He should do Naruto yaoi, he'd make a killing. Luckily, reviews are like money to me as money is to him. I love getting paid in reviews for my hard work! Thanks again all of you who reviewed.

* * *

Situational Hazard 21

* * *

Maybe someone was knocking on his door. Maybe someone was calling out his name. Or maybe it was just the pounding in his head…

"Kakashi! Kakashi, you little jerk, open up!" The loudmouth on the other end of his consciousness made his head explode in pain. The voice was insufferably loud, and a bit deep, just the kind of tone that made him want to crawl off the edge of a cliff and die.

"Open the door! Your brat wants to see you! If you don't open this door, I won't let you visit him for a month!"

Kakashi sat up abruptly and despite the death-defying pain in his head, he stumbled sluggishly over to the door. On the other side was Tsunade, who didn't look amused in the least. He gave her a tired stare and distantly wondered if she had come with something to make the pain stop.

"Finally! I knew you were in there. I come here to personally escort you to Naruto and you have the gall to be sleeping."

Kakashi knew that telling her what was on his mind was likely to get him decimated. It was something along the lines of: "I'm in agony, you heifer!" Oh well, he could always go to Icha Icha land.

"Excuse me for being in pain. What was I thinking?"

She glared wicked daggers at him but didn't say another word. He silently followed, trying in vain to get his vision to stop blurring and the world to stay still and walked into right into Tsunade. She let out a small growl and he wisely made his way over to her right side to avoid certain travesties that involved his body and her fist.

"He's been nagging my head off to see you," she shrugged, "I don't know why though, who would want to see a boring, lazy, annoying bum like you?" Kakashi would have glared her to ashes if he could. Not for his lack of trying.

She laughed at the pained look on his face trying to morph itself into a glower of contempt, and got an evil idea. So Naruto loved this man, eh? Was he good enough for her little brother?

She stuck her foot out. A good shinobi would have sidestepped, dodged, jumped, kicked, or stopped. But Kakashi tripped. And fell flat on his face. She couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

He slowly crawled to his knees and stood. Calling him a lazy bum was one thing, that didn't make his headache worse. But tripping him so that he fell so hard his head felt like it imploded was another. He was beyond pissed.

"_You bitch_!" He lunged at her to end her laughter but a sudden wave of agony went through his neck and against his will his legs went limp as a blade of grass and he tripped again. Tsuande was in hysterics, holding her sides like she was dying, like tripping the famous Copy-ninja of Konoha was the funniest thing in the world.

She fully expected him to try and attack her again and give her some more amusement….but Kakashi wasn't getting up. Her giggles died down and the smile was reduced to a worried frown as she cautiously tiptoed over to the fallen Jounin and poked him in the side with her heel. He was unconscious.

"Shit." Now she had to drag him back to her office. How troublesome. Hefting his nearly weightless body over her shoulder, she wondered in the back of her mind, if he even ate at all and now much. Kakashi was unusually skinny for a Jounin, but his strength and abilities more than made up for that. The Hokage herself was what she would call 'healthy', in some areas more than other, but all the same, she didn't like skinny people all that much.

Which almost led to her punching out Yamanaka Ino one day.

The blonde girl had come into her office under the pretense that she had something important to ask her about medical ninjutsu, and Tsunade, being the ever-nice person she was, allowed her to step into the office even after she ruined her chances of sneaking some sake under her desk. Ino looked Tsunade in the eye and with an annoying smile asked, "How do you get you waist so small to make your boobs look so big? I want to do that, please teach me. You must not eat any fatty foods at all, huh? Sometimes I can't help myself, what wi---- and she continued to ramble on and on about how skinny she wanted to be and how she never ate between meals and how fruit was the devil no matter how good it tasted. Tsunade quietly growled out that she was busy and had Shizune escort the babbling girl away before she lost her temper. At least Kakashi was light, not that it would have mattered. She was the Hokage, she could pick up Chouza Akimichi if she had to!

People kind of stared and whispered when they were out of eye and earshot of her as she walked confidently as ever down the village to her office with the copy-nin sprawled across her shoulder. The little brat lived hella far away. She sort of wished she hadn't tripped Kakashi in the first place, because if Naruto found out…well if Naruto found out then _everyone _would find out. The loudmouth would have her ears for it. Some insurance would be necessary if she wanted to get through the day without attempting to drown herself in a vat of sake. She had promised Shizune that she would stop drinking on the job, but little did the dark-haired assistant know how terribly difficult it was.

"Tsunade-sempai! What happened to Kakashi-sensei?!" Tsunade sucked her teeth. She had been so close to getting back without anyone bothering her.

"Don't question me Haruno. Nothing of your concern has happened."

The pink-haired girl sighed. She could take a hint. But….

"Can I come with you? I mean, just to see them that is?"

Tsunade grit her teeth harder. She had forgotten that she would fetch the flower girl for Naruto, it only made sense to bring the heifer by. A snide comment bubbled its way up her throat, but she decided that she would hold her tongue again. It wasn't like she could make the girl want to see her teammates any less and she had to give Sakura some credit where credit was due after all. If it wasn't for her, Kakashi wouldn't even be swung over the Hokage's shoulder, and Naruto would more than likely be dead. Sakura was a selfish young woman, but when it came down to it, she had saved her friends, and deserved to see them.

She nodded and Sakura squealed, a noise which Tsunade would have to somehow ensure she never heard again. Now that she was there….

"Carry him." Tsunade thrust Kakashi into Sakura's arms and the girl almost fell, startled.

"Wha—I—I—

One look from Tsunade and she was done talking.

* * *

When they finally got back to her offices, she sent Sakura to make a room with Naruto and Kakashi so that whichever of them woke up first would have the privilege to see the other. In the meantime, she needed to get drunk to numb herself to Naruto's overly loud, indignant yells and powerful lung fury. Shizune watched her from her usual corner with a stern gleam in her eye that Tsunade pretended not to notice, but a firm had stilled the one she had sneaking beneath her draw to her stash and she sighed resignedly and let her head fall with a _thud _on the desk. Shizune smiled to herself. She had been working on getting the Hokage to drink less and take on more responsibility, as it had seemed like Tsunade could do nothing but drink when she was stressed. Shizune had been there for the worst of it and by then had already known what was required of her as a loyal shinobi and friend. Today Tsunade looked stressed, no doubt dying for a drink, but she wouldn't allow it. Besides, there was paperwork to be done.

When she lifted up the stack of papers from the chair behind her and dropped it on the woman's desk, Tsunade looked up slowly, as if she were looking to her doom, and blinked. Then she began to cry.

"Shi-chan, why?! Why now?! Why ever? Why did I become the Hokage just so I could see how little control I have? I don't even like to read, and yet that's all I do. I miss the life I had before, where I could gamble and lose and run and drink and just be myself, and not someone else's hero."

Shizune looked down at her without a single sliver of sympathy and said, "You aren't going to give up, are you?" Her tone was hard and slightly disappointed, but she knew her sempai and friend could tell that she was just being encouraging, even after all, she wouldn't be a very good friend if she wasn't.

The blonde shook her head no and banged it again on the table before noncommittally inching her hand to the first of dozens of documents. Stupid Shizune and her stupid rightness.

* * *

Sakura leaned over her sleeping friend and watched him with a broad smile on her face. It was good to see him without respiration masks and needles and patches and bandages on him for once even though he had a strange device on his abdomen. Kakashi was lying unconscious in the bed next to him, like Tsunade told her to situate him, for reasons she had yet to understand, whatever it was, she was happy that they were in the same room together at any rate.

"I'm here now, I promise not to leave you again."

For another half an hour she sat and stared at them, thinking about all the things that had happened, all the things that had changed, and all the things that could have been. Fortunately they were alive at all.

She didn't want to leave them just yet, but Tsunade stuck her head in the room and told Sakura that they would see her when they got out. There was no harshness in her voice like there usually was and that made Sakura smile inside. Maybe things were finally going to get better.

* * *

'_Huh' _

There was a weight on his chest—not a subduing weight, but there was definitely something on top of him that should not have been there. Since he didn't usually wake up with things on him, he almost cautiously peeked his eye open to see yellow. He blinked, and the yellow was still there. He brought his hand up to touch it to find that it was soft and fuzzy an warm and I sort of felt….alive. Just as he made to push whatever it was off of him, the thing beat him to it. It had wide, clear, beautiful blue eyes and a tired smile and a cute nose, and pouty lips, and—

"Naruto…?"

Naruto's grin got bigger before an almost covert blush wisped across his nose and he hastily removed his hands from Kakashi's chest. "Ah, sorry about that, sensei, I must have fallen asleep." He yawned and stretched with feline grace and the man's eyes couldn't help but skirt the muscles on the younger boy's half-exposed firm chest.

Naruto realized what he was doing and yanked his hands back down to his sides, the blush seeping down to his cheeks. "Haven't had a good sleep like that in a long time. So Kakashi-sensei, er…why are you here?"

Kakashi's eye glazed over as he tried to remember why it was he was lying in a hospital room with his blonde student on top of him, however wrong that may have sounded. Tsunade…agonizing pain….the ground….

"That bitch tripped me." A golden eyebrow arched at the expletive. He had never heard Kakashi cuss before.

"Who?"

"Tsunade. That drunken heifer will wish she never---

"Oh you guys are up! And I hear Kakashi is hallucinating again. Maybe I should take him to the psych ward." Tsunade smiled with her hands clasped together like a peasant and briskly walked over to the bed to stamp her hand across Kakashi's mouth. Naruto was glaring at her.

"Why would Kakashi-sensei be hallucinating?" He asked slowly, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Well," she explained, "It's just an unpleasant side-effect of the medicine I gave him to help his headache go away."

"You mean the headache I had when you came to my house and tripped me?" Kakashi supplied spitefully, seeing the look Naruto was giving her. It amused him to see Naruto angry at the Hokage over him. He thought it was cute.

"What's he talking about, Baa-chan? You wouldn't do that, would you? Why?"

"Naruto, don't listen to him, he's---

"_Why?!_" The blonde snapped before he could help himself. No mere trip would land a person like Kakashi in the hospital. Sure he was glad his sensei was there, but when he woke up to see the Jounin lying next to him on another bed unconscious, he had thought something terrible had happened. But Tsunade tripped him. _Tripped him._

Tsunade may as well have just given up and gone to the nearest bar to drown the rest of her already shot day in some burning liquor. Stupid Kakashi and his stupid over-sensitive head.

"Shut up kid," She was the Hokage, not some guilty simpleton. "He's here, right? Like I said, he'd be there when you woke up, I never said he'd be in good condition. I know you're upset because you lo---"

Naruto shot up from his seat and slapped his hand over her flapping lips. "Shut it old lady! Say another word and I'll tell Shizune about the wine and sake you have the orderlies at the hospital sneak you when she isn't around!" Tsunade jerked the boy's hand away from her mouth.

"Geez, alright kid! But you'll have to tell him sooner or later."

"Yeah whatever like I---

"I have work to do, you know, my Hokagely duties." With a wave she twirled out the door before the oversized flowerpot connected with her head.

Naruto sat stiffly, enraged to the point of running after her down the hall but a clearing throat broke him out of his vengeful haze and he realized that Kakashi hadn't exactly disappeared.

"Oh," he laughed nervously, ruffling his limp blonde spikes. "hehehe."

Kakashi gave him a curious look. "What was that all about?" He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand. His head had stopped hurting, which he thanked the deities for and he was hungry. He wondered if Naruto was allowed to go home yet. Not that it mattered what she said, after all, she owed him for giving him the tour of pain central.

"N-nothing. It was just uh…just…nothing." He replied unconvincingly. Kakashi shrugged it off; if it was nothing then it was nothing. All he knew was that if he didn't get something in the space between his pelvis and his chest he was going to keel over and die or starvation.

"Ramen, Naruto?" The teen's eyes lit up like Christmas morning.

"You know it!" The Jounin chuckled at his adorable display of enthusiasm and resisted the urge to pet him on the head, he looked so happy.

* * *

Teuchi had been giving them suspicious looks since they say down but Kakashi knew to feign ignorance when feigning ignorance was due so he merely pretended that the old man wasn't giving him the eye. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't as lost to the attention as he had thought.

"What?" He said loudly and the old man looked off somewhere else and muttered something under his breath.

"Louder, old man I can't hear you!" Ayame tried to shake her head at him to diffuse the boy's irritation but Teuchi put the bowl he had in his hand down and said to him, "Iruka doesn't come here anymore. I asked him why and he said that you had gotten into some trouble with Kakashi."

This time Kakashi decided to pay attention.

"What did he mean by that? I didn't get into any trouble with Kakashi-sensei, that's not what happened at all."

Teuchi looked surprised, then confused. "Haruno-san said something happened…though I think she was a kind of wasted, I suppose it _could _have been a misunderstanding."

"I'm sure it was." Kakashi piped up all but snatching the steaming bowl from the man.

The conversation might have ended there, if Naruto wasn't so curious. "So, what did she say happened?"

Teuchi looked stuck for a moment, as if he were debating whether or not to keep what he knew to himself. "I-I don't think it's my place to say after all." And he ducked behind another curtain in the back of the shop before Naruto could ask any more questions.

Naruto grumbled in disappointment but didn't press the issue any further, and not because a hot bowl of ramen was placed before his hungry eyes.

"Itadakimasu!" He dug in with his usual ramen-relish, inhaling the entire bowl before Kakashi even had the chance to break apart his chopsticks.

"Slow down, you might choke one day, then what will I tell people? The future Hokage met his end at the hands of a bowl of noodles?"

"Ushuphahashisheshe!" Only because of his sheer genius could Kakashi translate the mass of nonsensical gibberish as 'Shut up Kakashi-sensei', in which case he would have to make sure to teach the brat some manners. He was paying for their meal after all.

"I didn't think passing by here for old times sake would lead me to Tsunade-sempai's escaped captives.' A voice from behind them giggled. Naruto swallowed a mouthful of noodles and broke out into a full smile before turning around to glomp Sakura.

Kakashi grunted and used the distraction to hurriedly eat his food and innocently wait for her to start talking to him. For once she hugged back, enthusiastically, and rubbed his head the way an older sister would do. Looking over the blonde's shoulder at Kakashi, "So what are you guys up to? Besides eating I mean?"

There was nothing to do after lunch but go home, and some teasing was long overdue for him. Better get a head start and really piss the boy off.

"Oh," Kakashi closed his eye and waved his hand casually, "Naruto and I are just out on a date."

Sakura felt Naruto stiffen immediately in her arms and, with the same stiffness, turned to face Kakashi, his eyes blazing with the flames of fury.

"_We are on no such thing! _Don't joke around like that, you lazy bum!" He snapped, swinging for Kakashi's head and obviously missing. Sakura couldn't help but find the exchange amusing, not sure whether it was because she had her suspicions that the two had some sort of thing going on, or because it was simply cute. Everything, in and of itself, was back to normal. More or less, everyone was alive, even though some people were a little worse off than others, she was still glad that she had some people to call friends that still looked at her the same way they had before everything had happened. That called for a fresh new start, she thought, and, if she were lucky, they could be a team again. If not, then that was all well and good too. A girl could hope.

"Maa, Naruto, are you trying to say that dating me is a joke?" He said with a poor imitation of hurt, trying to make Naruto even angrier so he could say something interesting.

Sakura watched on, smiling, surprised to find that she was not as weirded out by the idea of Naruto and Kakashi actually dating. After what she heard about Asuma and Shikamaru, she would be really unfair to find something to be angry or jealous about. At least Shikamaru had survived.

"Don't go to sleep tonight, Kakashi." Naruto warned, purposely leaving out the honorary to stress his threat.

It wasn't exactly the reaction Kakashi was looking for, but all the same, he'd be much more entertaining at home.

"I'm happy to see that you two are alright, and you're still as loud and expressive as usual, Naruto." Sakura winked at Kakashi when Naruto wasn't looking. The Jounin only blinked cluelessly and she rolled her eyes with a snort.

"Well, I'm headed off to see Hinata-chan. You should come and see her soon Naruto, she asks about you a lot." She purposely left out 'everyday' so as not to give the boy the creeps. And it actually was sort of creepy the way Hinata would ask about him nearly every five minutes.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Hinata doesn't seem like the type to go crazy, or sleep and have a baby with a bastard like Sasuke. I'll have to find out what she was thinking. And the baby." Then as an afterthought, "I hope it doesn't look like Sasuke." He finished with a shudder.

Sakura laughed and patted him on the back. "He's a cute kid, and yeah, he actually does look quite a bit like Sasuke, but has more of a Neji-thing going on with the constant scowl and the eyes. Don't worry about it, Naru-kun."

At the mention of the friendly pet name, Kakashi gave the girl a dull-eyed glare that she seemed convincingly oblivious to and stood. Before he could tell her that he had better things to do than talk about the Hyuuga heiress' crush on _Naru-kun _she beat him to the punch.

"I have to be going now, I guess I'll catch up with you guys another time soon. I still don't know where you moved to Naruto." She ran out of the shop with a wave and down the street leaving them alone together again and the distinct feeling of someone nosy watching them.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi warily. "You do realize that I don't have the money to pay for this, don't you?"

"If you did then I wouldn't be."

Naruto sucked his teeth and stalked past him with a bit of limp in his step. In their haste to leave the hospital before Tsunade had noticed, they had forgotten his wheelchair. Not that he needed that thing anyway; he was Uzumaki Naruto and he could walk just fine!

Kakashi paid the curious shop owner and ducked under the curtain before he realized that he forgot to interrogate Sakura about her recollection of their ordeal. It didn't matter because his head was starting the familiar hum that signaled an incoming migraine and he absentmindedly reached for the left breast pocket of his flak vest for the pills Tsunade had tucked away when he was drifting through the realms of consciousness. He was not a medicine man, but he wasn't a glutton for pain either.

Naruto watched him take the pills with what could probably be described as a bitter grimace if the displeased crinkling of his right eye was anything to go by. He had no misconceptions that Kakashi was an otherwise strong, will-oriented person and that it would have to take a lot to make the Jounin do something out of his element or anything that would make him seem even fractionally dependent on another thing. Anyway, he hoped Kakashi felt better and vowed internally to give Tsunade the yelling at of a lifetime for tripping Kakashi in the first place.

"Back to our regularly scheduled lives," Naruto murmured to himself with a smile.

TBC……..

I really hadn't meant to leave you guys on this cliffhanger, but I'm working on OMG, Kakashi-sensei is hot! for you guys. And other—ahem—things. So the last line of this chapter is the beginning of the rest of Kakashi and Naruto's lives. Minor time skips will ensue, but nothing more than a few insignificant days if any happen by, but I'll try to avoid them anyway. And so, I leave you guys with this, and hope I can update as soon as possible. Thanks for all the reviews, you guys have no idea how happy you make me. I will explain a few things about Hinata and Sasuke, and maybe Iruka but nothing in great detail, just enough to appease your curiosity, if you guys have any.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I'm feeling generous.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Situational Hazard 22

* * *

The walk home was tense. Well, for Naruto at least. Kakashi hadn't exhibited any signs of curiosity or unease the way Naruto did, and the boy was actually glad for this because it meant that if Kakashi were tense, chances were, it wouldn't be for the same reasons he was. His sensei did look paler than usual, but after being tripped by the Hokage and blacking out he looked healthy for the most part. 

"Do I have something in my eye?"

Naruto blinked and realized that he had been staring. Silently he cursed himself and bit his lip, hoping the blush wasn't going to get him into too much trouble.

"No, I was just thinking."

"About me?" Naruto should have known he would ask.

"Don't flatter yourself." He huffed.

Kakashi pouted under his mask. "And I try so hard too…."

Naruto shook his head and smiled at his sensei's always amusing, yet tactless jokes. If only Kakashi knew that some of the things he said were beginning to get to him. He had been thinking about Kakashi, in a more worrisome way than the way the Jounin was implying, but all the same, the man had hit his mark.

'_Not that it wasn't obvious, you were __**staring**__you dolt.' _

The rest of the walk home was silent, but Naruto knew that once they got into the house, all hell would break loose. Kakashi always started their little tiffs, as if he enjoyed them to the point where they had become apart of his regular routine, no doubt Kakashi would say something that made him want to strangle the Jounin before Naruto could even limp off to his room.

Not that he minded all that much, really. He liked the games they played as much as Kakashi did, even if they were rather frustrating. Then the games took a somewhat _perverse _turn. But he didn't want to and couldn't think about that in too much detail. He was supposed to be starting over. It never happened.

And how could he forget that face? Okay….well he had forgotten a good deal of things, and remembered things prior to his kidnapping in vague and clipped detail, but he didn't like to dwell on it too much, for the memories he did have left always morphed into some unpleasant instance of his captives hurting him and that wasn't something he would have rather indulged himself with.

He didn't know all the details of his rescue, only that Kakashi and Sasuke played a big part. Sasuke whom he hadn't seen in years, and Kakashi who was walking right beside him. He had heard that Kakashi had almost gotten killed and lost his Sharingan to save him and when Naruto heard, he immediately felt worthless and had entertained the idea of Kakashi holding a grudge for several weeks before Tsunade assured him that Kakashi was in complete control of his own devices and that she knew for a fact that the man would have given his life to save him.

And of course that made sense. Sort of.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" Again, Kakashi's low-toned drawl snapped him out of his thoughtful fog and he couldn't help but be surprised that he was standing outside and Kakashi was inside the house. How long had he been standing there looking like an idiot?

"Oh." He stepped in and tried to make a mad walk to his room so that Kakashi wouldn't start with something infuriating, but as usual, Kakashi lived up to his expectations.

"I am curious as to what you and Tsunade-sama were talking about. The way I heard it, you had to tell me sooner or later, and a wise man once said, there's no time like the present."

Naruto tried not to look as if what he said made him freeze, but failed, almost falling over. He thought he had escaped that question but apparently, Kakashi's persistence had a way of haunting him at the wrong times. He didn't want to talk about it.

"I said it was nothing."

"And I saw you slap your hand over _the _Hokage's mouth and tell her to shut up, which no one in their even remotely sane mind would do," never mind the fact that he himself had called her a bitch _and _a drunken heifer, "It may have been nothing to nobody who knows what she was talking about, but I'm sure if she continued, it would have definitely been something."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to tell you, how about that?" Naruto leaned against the wall, having a feeling that the conversation was going to be long and end on a terse note. In any case, he would probably be telling the Jounin off all day long.

"Well, for starters, it's not very nice---

"And neither are you."

"I try." Kakashi sneered.

"Don't you have something you do?" Naruto asked meanly, giving the older man a baleful look.

"Nope, I'm completely free today. So what were you guys talking about concerning me? You what? What are you going to have to tell me sooner or later?"

Naruto was starting to get agitated. He knew he should have kept his bloody mouth shut and not trust loud-mouth ass Tsunade to keep a damn secret. He vowed to never tell her anything sensitive again.

"Why do you wear that mask, huh? What's under there?"

Kakashi gave him a strange look and he knew why. "I don't remember a lot of things." He explained. "And for every question you ask me that I don't want to answer, I'll do the same to you. Hopefully you'll soon learn your lesson and stop asking because nothing of this earth is going to get me to tell you anything."

'Yet' 

Kakashi smiled and sat down, leaning forward toward the direction Naruto was standing and said in the most infuriatingly calm voice, "Try me."

Naruto's eyes narrowed with suspicion. What kind of game was Kakashi playing? He wouldn't answer anything Naruto had to ask.

Would he?

"Alright then," he assented. "Tell me why you were the mask."

Kakashi sat back and stared at him expectantly and Naruto grumbled something unintelligible, which Kakashi might have asked about later, and went to sit across from him. Well, on the bright side, it was something to do, not that he had any plans.

"I don't want people to be reminded of my father when they look at me. Now will you answer mine?" He answered curtly, and the blonde shinobi already knew that before the day was over he would want to throttle his sensei.

"No."

"Well, this game is over, it was nice while it lasted."

"Wait!" He hadn't meant to sound so forward, but he didn't want to Kakashi to think that he was a bastard too to add to the other undesirable traits he possessed. "I-I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a jackass and don't deserve to know." Well, maybe he was a bit of an asshole, but sometimes it really couldn't be helped. Anyway, why did Kakashi want to know so bad? Was his curiosity really that potent?

"That's mean. I don't go talking about you behind your back."

'_Liar' _His subconscious echoed. He smacked it back down into submission before it could conjure up any feelings of moral guilt.

"First of all," Naruto smirked, "I wouldn't have told Tsunade-baa what I told her if you had been there, in which case I would have done no wrong. And don't lie, I know what you think of me and what you tell other people. For all you know, I may have said something nice, but the same can't be said for you and that's why you'll never know."

Kakashi was about to go into very vocal detail about how he perceived Naruto was nothing like what the younger shinobi thought. But then he'd be lying. Again. To be on the safe side, he offered the only explanation that he could in light of the situation.

"People change."

Naruto couldn't argue with that. Just look at Sakura. She had finally done the things he always dreamed she would do when they were younger but unfortunately by then it was too late. He had changed. If people did in fact change like the seasons, then he had no real reason to believe that Kakashi still thought of him as the stupid, annoying, loudmouth Genin with a penchant for trouble and an eye for mischief. Of course, he had to make sure.

"Oh yeah, then what do you think of me now?"

Kakashi threw the indecent thoughts that crept up on him to the back of his mind. A lot of things could be said about Naruto after he returned from his two and a half year excursion with Jiraiya, and if Naruto really wanted to know, a lot of them were praises of his physical characteristics. But he decided he would be a gentleman, just that once, and indulge the boy in something he actually wanted to hear.

"You're far more mature than most people give you credit for, you are still stubborn but you're also strong in the stubbornness and that gives you more of an advantage than you realize. And you're crafty, just like Jiraiya and not shamed to say, me. You appear to wear your emotions on your sleeve, but you do so with the knowledge that nobody can hurt you with your own anger, and that is why you're so easy to rile. You are very feisty, yet at the same time, sensitive to certain things for certain reasons. Despite the unavoidable truth of who you are, you are still very easy to like and trust. I mean, take me for example, not only have I never let anyone see my face, not even Gai or Asuma, but I don't usually put my life in the hands of someone even marginally less capable than me. I know you better than you think I do, and that's why you're sitting there with that look on your face. You didn't think I even cared, did you?"

Indeed Naruto was giving him a look that was a cross between stunned guilt and surprise.

"Wha—but---well, I mean, all that's not—

"Yes it is and you know it. Don't be shocked, most of my perception is selective and I only really pay attention to things that interest me or anything concerning a mission."

Things that interested him? Again, Naruto couldn't stop the obscene blush from taking over the entire area above his nose and below his eyes and right up to his ears. Kakashi found him interesting? Even remotely?

"Why would I be of any interest to you? Is it because of _that_?"

"Of course not. Weren't you listening to anything I said? You're easy to like, nine-tailed fox or not."

Naruto was glad he was sitting because had he been standing, he would have made an ass of himself tripping over his own surprise. Kakashi….

"You like me?" He was proud of himself for keeping the stutter out of his voice.

Kakashi found the question to be endearingly cute and the splash of color adorning the blonde's face was just too irresistible to pass up. He had the urge to see it spread and get even redder.

"I do remember telling you that at some point in time a while back. You took it to mean that I liked you in that way, and not that you're impossible to like that way, but I meant it to say that I like you for all the qualities I named earlier."

Naruto felt his heart sink like the Titanic. Kakashi liked him, and that was all well and good, but…it just wasn't what he had—stupidly—been expecting. Of course Kakashi didn't like him that way, for many reasons, obvious and personal. That was okay, he was used to fleeting feelings of accomplishment and happiness only to have it snatched away and hurt like hell. It was like yanking a band-aid off of a not yet healed wound. It hurt, but he did it all the time. The irony was too blatant to ignore. He had even trained his eyes not to betray him anymore, even though at the moment that was proving to be near impossible, but he covered it up with a snort and a nonchalant look to his side.

Kakashi meanwhile, was lying his head off. He liked the boy for those qualities and more. So much more. But what would Naruto say to something like that? _'Probably call me a pervert'_

"I didn't think it was a possible for you to like anyone in anyway, but I guess there really is a soul somewhere in there."

Kakashi might have flinched, but as he shifted in his chair, he hadn't been aware of it and neither had Naruto. It was different when the people he called his comrades called him things like heartless and cold and emotionless, but in his attempt to show Naruto that he wasn't really any of those things, he still managed to inadvertently be called soulless. He didn't have to ask to know what Naruto thought of him.

But he would anyway.

"And what about me? What do you think of me? I mean aside from the obvious perverted, lazy, boring."

"I never said you were boring."

"You're charismatic, but mysterious and secretive to a degree that makes you appear unapproachable, and I know that's the way you like it. You're perceptive, something I'm sure you know, and you're insufferably hard to read. I've only ever seen you really smile six times, laugh twice, and look sad once."

"I smile all the time." Kakashi threw in. He smiled all the time!

"You smile, but not only does it never actually reach your mouth, but it probably doesn't even show in your eye, which is why it's usually closed. I can sometimes tell when your smiles are real because you're mask isn't exactly made of stone and does stretch a certain way when you do." Naruto mentally slapped himself for revealing that he even looked that closely at the man. Hopefully Kakashi would overlook it.

"At least that proves that you have a mouth, or something close to one." He joked to cover up his tiny revelation.

Kakashi had noticed. But he wouldn't let Naruto know. Not yet.

"Interesting, you do pay attention. I'm almost glad you don't remember my face, that way I can always frustrate you about the fact that you can't see it."

Naruto sucked his teeth.

He never knew that Naruto watched him so carefully as to pick up on something as insignificant as his smile, which he couldn't even really see, and what made it even more interesting was that he was terribly right. Most of Kakashi's smiles were fake. The only times he had ever really smiled was when Yondaime and Jiraiya would argue and fight about silly and perverted things. Then Naruto came into his life, and nearly everything the teenager did was amusing enough or cute enough to make him smile or laugh, even though most of the time Naruto never saw it.

He wondered if Naruto liked his smile and if he would have liked his smile without the mask. "I see I'm not the only one with selective perception. Why, I've never known you were so insightful, makes me wonder what else you're hiding."

'_I'm not hiding anything. I just love you, care about you, and want to see you without your mask again, that's all. Not much worth hiding'_

"So when are you going to tell me what you two were talking about? I have to find out sooner or later, I do hope you picked a date."

"I didn't." Naruto growled, mildly annoyed. Couldn't Kakashi just leave it alone?

"Alright then, don't tell me. I guess I'll just wait until you're….ready." Kakashi was not a fool. Whatever Tsunade was about to say in that room was something Naruto clearly didn't want him to know. And if it was something Naruto had to tell him, then it was worth knowing. Hopefully it wasn't as bad as the boy was making it seem.

Naruto looked uneasy, like there was something he wanted to say but didn't. Kakashi drummed his fingers on the table as the two sat there in tense silence. The kind of silence Naruto couldn't stand.

"Don't you have some perverted book to touch yourself to?"

Kakashi turned to him with an appalled look in his eye. Not only hadn't he expected Naruto to start a potential bickering match, but he certainly hadn't seen _that _coming.

"Hmm…now that you mention it, I guess I lost the last one I had." He replied thoughtfully. Not that he even remembered the name of the book.

"Well stay away from me until you get laid or something, I don't want to see anything that will scar my innocence."

Then, for the third time Naruto had ever heard, Kakashi laughed. It was a loud laugh, definitely something Naruto could get used to hearing. He was actually glad that Kakashi did it so little, it sure was something to watching his chest heave and his eye close with amusement.

"I don't see what you find so humorous, but I'm serious, dude. I don't want to come in for breakfast to see that you and I aren't the only ones up in the morning."

Kakashi laughed harder, putting his head down. Naruto thought his laugh sounded beautiful even bordering on hysterics. He watched Kakashi when the Jounin wasn't looking, trying to study and ingrain every reaction Kakashi had, every crinkle in his mask, every hitch in his breath.

'Kami, am I obsessed' 

When Kakashi finally calmed down enough to look at Naruto, as soon as he did he started cracking up again, he couldn't help it. The kid was so tactlessly bold it was hilarious.

Naruto rolled his eyes and smirked. Only Kakashi would find something so perverted so funny. Even so, he was serious about what he had said. If one day Kakashi happened to come to the table with 'morning wood' he wouldn't be embarrassing himself, he would be embarrassing Naruto. It wouldn't be interesting at all if Naruto pitched a tent right along with him.

"It's great, isn't it?" He asked dryly, only making Kakashi laugh more. He liked making Kakashi laugh, he loved the smile in the man's eyes, the way his ears turned pink, the way he gasped to catch his breath.

'I can think of a few other things that can make him gasp' 

"Hysterical, huh?"

"Stop it…stop…" Kakashi exhaled between laughs, slapping the table. "Oh god, you're a riot." Finally sucking some much needed air into his lungs, he looked at Naruto and almost started again. The boy really was funny, especially the mundane look on his face, but now it was time to put him in his place.

Because everyone knows Kakashi's a huge pervert, he got a coy look in his eye that Naruto knew meant trouble and didn't have time to get up and run to his room before the man said something that made his face turn almost blood red.

"You're the first person to complain about my dick."

Poor Naruto thought the blood vessels in his face would burst when Kakashi said the word 'dick'. He damned his little kink for liking it when Kakashi cursed and valiantly fought the urge to bite his lip and closed his eyes.

"Thanks for that…rather telling piece of information." He mumbled sarcastically, and of course Kakashi was only too happy to tell him that he was welcome.

Kakashi saw the twitch in one of Naruto's eyes before he closed it that reminded him of the kind of twitch Anko's eye did when she found something interesting. If the look was the same, then by all means was he going to exploit it.

"I mean, nine and half inches, who could complain about that?" He asked, actually coming off sounding pretty innocent, as if he really couldn't understand why someone would complain (-_sings-_ I know I wooouldn't!). He wasn't particularly proud of anything about himself except his penis, which was like a pervert's Olympic torch or something. He had ruled many a woman with it and had gotten his way more times than he could count with females from other villages on long missions. Naruto would crumble just like the rest of them if the boy ever gave him a chance to whip it out.

'God, I'm such a perv…' He smiled to himself. 

Naruto's mouth gaped against his will. He remembered that juicy portion of one of their conversations in the past, but he didn't expect Kakashi to bring it up again. For all he knew the bastard could have been lying, knowing that Naruto was never going to see it and probably didn't even know what nine inches looked like.

'I'd sure like to though' He wished silently. 

"Well, I don't want to see any of those inches," he lied, "Go out there as soon as possible and please nurse your pet. I think the only thing worse than seeing you with a hard on in the morning is…." He trailed off as his mind was suddenly thrust back to the night he got kidnapped. The tent….the moans….turning around and seeing…being so turned on…

"I guess you remember that we've been through that before. Under different circumstances it would have been amusing now, but if it makes you really upset, we can just talk about something." Kakashi offered. He was a pervert, but he wasn't dastardly inconsiderate.

Naruto was not about to back down and off of a perfect opportunity to embarrass his sensei. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? You know what? I don't believe you." He crossed his arms and hiked a blonde brow, daring Kakashi to defend himself.

But he knew Kakashi would do no such thing, which was what made it safe to ask.

Kakashi was so tempted to offer him a free show but he knew he would only accomplish one of many undesirable things. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Because." Naruto said, and then silence ensued. Kakashi slid his chair back and slouched, spreading his legs under the table. He had a feeling they were going to spending a lot of time catching up in the kitchen. He was sure Naruto missed their promiscuous banter as much as he did, if the challenging look in his eyes was anything to go by.

"Because?"

"Because, lots of reasons. One, you're a bastard and I don't know what god would endow you with equipment like that. Two, guys lie about the size of the dicks all the time, what incentive do I have to believe you aren't? Not that I'm suggesting visual proof. Three, if that were the case, I'd know for sure, it would be all around the village, especially if you get as much ass as you claim."

"Unless you have all that and don't know how to use it, then I could see how it isn't worth gossiping about." He added as fuel to the fire.

Kakashi smirked naughtily under his mask. _'Let's see if I'm right about the eye twitch thing…'_

"Trust me, I know how to use every inch of my cock." And he was pleased to see that Naruto did more than twitch. There was an uncomfortable shift in his movements in his chair, almost as if he were squirming. Kakashi's shit-eating grin grew wider.

"Maybe I fuck them so good they don't want to share the details with anyone else. Ever think of that?"

"No." Naruto's voice came out more like a dry rasp than the indignant overtone he intended for it to have. He literally kicked himself under the table when he saw a knowing contort in Kakashi's eye. Like he knew just what Naruto was thinking. Naruto shuddered inwardly. That just couldn't be.

Kakashi knew a sign when he saw it, he was a shinobi after all; he was supposed to interpret the subtle things. But that didn't mean he couldn't be wrong, he just hoped he wasn't.

Why in the world was he sitting in the kitchen talking about Kakashi's dick to Kakashi and how good he was in bed?! It was torture on his teenaged libido! The subject would have to change or he was sure he would inevitably embarrass himself further.

"I don't care anyway, only a perv like you would be obsessed with things like that." He sniffed stuffily, acting like he didn't care about the disturbing sexiness he found in Kakashi using profanity. Who the heck had a fetish like that?

Apparently, his erection could care less if he were the only one on the planet with that kink.

Not a lot of the adult shinobi in the village used profanity for some unknown reason, save for Tsunade who cussed like a sailor, some Hokage she was, but a lot of the younger Genin and pre-Genin did, strangely enough. Sasuke had been known to cuss Sakura out when she bothered him on one of his 'off' days, and Sakura herself had often used the word 'damn' or 'shit' when she was upset, and not that he was looking, but Kakashi had never noticed any change in the way Naruto reacted to them at all. Nobody but Anko, Iruka, and Raidou had ever heard him curse in any livid detail and only Anko and her weird ass seemed to always find a reason to smile or suddenly be uncomfortably close to him when he did.

It was too bad Naruto wasn't as touchy as she was otherwise he'd make expletives a part of his daily routine just to see the boy squirm. If such were the case, then what Naruto had could only be called an interesting kink. From where he got it from, it probably didn't matter as much as how it was affecting him. If Kakashi still had his Sharingan, he might have cheated, but he was working on bare instinct.

All Naruto knew, was that if Kakashi ever happened to catch wind of his erection it would be the end of everything. Sure they had had their teasing homosexual moments, but the forbidden was what made it fun. Kakashi assumed that he wasn't gay or bisexual and so the jokes wouldn't affect him either way, and he assumed that Kakashi was straight too. If Kakashi wasn't appreciative or flattered by his arousal then he might as well have just acted like he was completely straight, even if he wasn't.

"There's no need to be so touchy, Naruto, don't worry, jealousy is perfectly normal." He said sounding sickly sweet.

"Who the hell is jealous?!" He was going to stab that bastard!

"I know young boys are always losing their wits about the size of their penises, and they always deny it. Don't let it bother you; some people just aren't---

"I'll have you know there's not a damn thing wrong with the size of my dick! It may not be fucking nine inches, but I'm satisfied with it, so don't go telling me that I'm jealous and obsessive and all that stupid shit!"

Kakashi was glad he took the pills earlier or the blonde's furious yells would have given him a migraine for days. _'Though I wonder how big _his _is? If he's satisfied with it, then it must be a sight to see' _

If it happened to be night time, he would have used the excuse of going to bed, but it was only about four o'clock in the day, and there was no way he was getting to sleep anyway. Yet he couldn't let Kakashi think he had won, even when he pretty much had. He had to find someway to change the subject. But what did one talk about with an enigmatic person like Kakashi? The only language he spoke was lazy and perverted.

"Well then it's only fair if you acknowledge that I'm telling the truth." It was fair.

Naruto glared at him and wondered if there wasn't some way he could take the mask off and use it to murder his sensei. Nerve to say he had a little dick! He did not! Staring at the elder shinobi's face, he found the perfect thing to change the subject.

"Can I see your other eye?" He asked curiously. He hadn't seen it since the operation and hadn't thought about what it might look like if it weren't red. If he were lucky Kakashi would be nice and just let him see without any trouble.

But that was never the case.

"What do I get out of it?"

Well it was a nice attempt if he did say so himself.

"You get the security of knowing that your chakra won't get depleted by just showing me."

'Well aren't we perceptive…and crafty' 

"That's true…"

"So can I see it?"

Why not? Kakashi sighed and wasted no time slipping his hitae-ate up and off his head, carefully watching for Naruto's reaction. Naruto looked from one eye to the next, a 'wow' escaping him.

"Old lady Hokage sure did a great job. It looks pretty natural to me, I think you should keep the headband off of it, you might not scare as many people."

For Kakashi to think he would have gotten a real compliment from Naruto without a joke to accompany it, he was sadly mistaken.

Naruto couldn't help but say wow when he saw how symmetrical Kakashi's eyes now were. The Sharingan stretched his eye socket to a wider, less noticeable degree, but his left eye was now a match for his right. Naruto thought it made him look even more appealing. If only Kakashi would take the mask off….

"I'm only kidding," Naruto assured him. "I think it looks fine, if you're worried about it then keep the thing on, I'm just saying."

Was that a real compliment?

"Just saying what?" Kakashi hoped he didn't sound…hopeful.

"No, I mean, now that you have two perfectly functioning eyes, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of cover that one up? I guess it dissuades from your 'aura of mystery', but don't you think it'd be kinda silly to hide the other one when there's nothing to hide?"

Kakashi slouched even more in his chair and palmed the table. The brat was right. "I'll consider that, but it's a hard habit to break."

"Ah." Naruto grunted.

Then there was nothing to talk about. Nothing except….that.

"Kakashi-sensei? Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Seriously. Do you…..do you miss your Sharingan?"

The question had thrown him off a bit. It wasn't completely off topic, but it was unexpected. He had thought about the empty feeling in the left socket of his eye a lot, but he had never actually had any feelings of remorse for losing it. He missed Obito, and he was sorry he had lost his friend's eye, but the end result had been more than worth it. For Naruto to ask such a question, he must have still had those doubts of his worth that Kakashi had tried to slap out of him earlier. It was sad that a boy so young had to feel the way he knew Naruto did, even without saying. What was it about himself that gave Naruto the impression that he wasn't worth saving? Worth caring about?

"No. I used it the way it was meant to be used, to protect my fellow comrades." He said and saw Naruto's face fall a little. He smiled. "And the people I really care about. My Sharingan did not have more value than your life. I don't blame you, I've never blamed you. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't even think twice."

Naruto knew that he might earn himself another slap or worse if he told Kakashi that he had no idea that the Jounin cared for him. But he really didn't. There were different kinds of caring in the world, he realized. The way Iruka used to care for him was the way a brother or father cared and Naruto didn't see Kakashi as either figure. Did that mean that Kakashi cared about him as a friend, or even a precious person?

"I miss Haku."

Kakashi thought he might have been hearing things. "Huh?"

"I said I miss Haku."

"…"

Naruto sighed.

"Why would you miss someone you barely knew?"

"I don't know. I…I never told anyone this but before the second and last fight with Zabuza, I met Haku while I was in the woods that morning. I was sleeping in the grass and he was above me, watching me until I woke up. I thought a goddess came to visit me in the middle of the woods, I never saw a person so pretty. I thought he was a girl; imagine my surprise when he told me he wasn't. He was wearing a pink dress, and picking flowers, how was I supposed to know?"

Kakashi felt a tug in his chest. Yes, Haku was a beautiful boy. So close to Naruto's age, had he been alive they might have hit it off too well…

"Anyway, we started talking. I didn't know who he was then. I told him that I was going to fight and he asked me about what I was fighting for. At first I told him that I didn't know. When he gave me a strange look, I felt the urge to lie, so I did. I said that I was fighting for the people most important to me; what I really wanted to say was that I was fighting for respect first and foremost. But I couldn't say that. Then he asked me if I had anyone that was precious to me. I told him that I guessed I did. Iruka counted, so I said yeah. He told me he had someone important to him that he was fighting for as well and that he would have done anything to keep him from harm. Had I known then that he was talking about Zabuza, I would have attacked him, killed him maybe. The reason you accidentally killed him was because I didn't. When I cracked his mask and saw who was behind it, I couldn't. That hesitation was what allowed him to save his precious person. But if I knew then what I think I know now…I really pity him more than I did before. I realized that I didn't think like him. Or Gaara, or Kimmimaro, who was Orochimaru's primary host before he got sick. They all were fighting to establish a purpose in life and while they were doing that, I didn't know what I was doing. Most people think I missed the irony of fighting for people who wanted to see me dead or just plain hated me, but I really didn't. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to get slapped again, but it never crossed my mind that you might ever care for someone like me."

Gray eyes grew hard. "Someone like you?" He repeated slowly.

"Come on Kakashi-sensei, let's be realistic, there was a time where you couldn't stand me, nobody could. You saw in me what everybody else saw; a slow-witted, dead-last, moronic, quick-tempered brat. Nobody likes a person like that. I was always aware of that, which is why I acted that way. You're right; nobody can hurt me with my own anger. If my behavior hurt anyone at all, it was me. I was always so defensive because I thought that nobody could defend me better than myself, physically and emotionally. It turned out that I was right. Iruka never protected me from the villagers, he never made the kids stop teasing me, he never really worried out me getting hurt out there. I don't know how much you know about me, Kakashi-sensei, but I'm used to being hurt a lot. Most ninja looked the other way when I was being hurt, some even joined and found amusement in my pain. The only way to keep them from causing me emotional pain when they hurt me was to give them a reason to. If I was annoying and always messed things up, they would hate me for a reason. A real reason. When I joined Team Seven, I already knew what you all thought of me. It was better that way. I get called a monster enough, if the people I'm always around called me something different, like dead-last, idiot, or knucklehead, at least it wasn't 'demon' or 'murderer'. I got so used to people not caring, that I didn't see a possibility of that changing. Haku and Gaara and Kimmimaro, they all had a point. If you have something to fight for, you find attention anyway you can get it. You guys noticed me when I acted stupid, and I'd fight for people to notice me, and not for what's inside me, but for anything that wasn't that."

"You, though, honestly, I didn't think you were capable of caring about anyone. I don't know why you give off that impression, I won't ask, but you and I are such complete opposites---I mean, I don't really understand why you care. Sure you can trust me and I can make you laugh, but Gai-sensei can do that too. There isn't anything about me really worth caring abo-

"Like I said, people change Naruto." Kakashi interjected. "I can tell by the way you explained some things in the past tense that you see that. I won't lie; I used to dislike you for the same reasons everyone else did. But I don't think it's possible for everyone to hate the same person. There will be people, or someone that likes something about that person, it just stands to reason that it doesn't always depend on the individual's behavior, but how others perceive them. They could be really good actors, and for one thing another person likes about them, there is someone else in the world that hates that same characteristic. That goes for everyone, even people like Zabuza or Itachi Uchiha. There are people in this world that find the way the villagers treat you deplorable and inhumane. There are people that couldn't hate you for anything. There are people who would except your flaws and like you for them, because you're human like they are. Every human has flaws, and some of those flaws are less appreciated by some people than others. The bottom line is, I care about you, and I'm not the only one. I think by now you know that. And consider that you aren't perfect and that nobody is so naturally there will be things people don't like about you. In your case things happen to be more difficult to deal with, but when you have people who care about you at your side then you find that it gradually becomes easier." Kakashi took a deep breath and let it out silently. Naruto was just staring at him. He looked sort of confused to Kakashi.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. But I have another question. Why Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Why did you like him more than you liked me? Was it his Sharingan, because I don't believe he was anything like you, except for that."

Kakashi suddenly felt like a fool. Of course Naruto had wondered about that, especially since he grew up the way he did. Kakashi wasn't entirely sure how to answer the question without sounding like he was playing favorites, but he didn't want to lie either.

"Sasuke needed the training. You may not have known then, but you were stronger than he was. He was smarter, but his genius capabilities weren't sharp enough not to lose in a fight with some like Neji Hyuuga, and if he ended up fighting you, I wanted him to have a chance. I used to tell him that his confidence would get him killed one day. It almost did. But you have that problem to, thing is, you know where your abilities lie and he draws on his intelligence to supply him. You two made the perfect contrast. Since we're being realistic, I remember what happened during the fight with Haku. Sasuke couldn't hope to stand a chance back then if you let your emotions get the best of you and used that red chakra. I figured…he needed me more than you did."

He hadn't wanted to say the last part, but he wanted Naruto to understand that everything happened for a reason, and if it bothered, he was entitled to know what that reason was. Five years ago if he had said that to his student, Naruto would not have taken it well at all and he more than likely wouldn't be sitting there as he was, fortunately, Naruto was more mature and hopefully, for his sake, as realistic as he said he was.

"And if I didn't have Kyuubi, then what would the reason be?" Hypothetically of course, because that wasn't the case and never would be.

"There wouldn't have been one. I would have trained all three of you then. You misunderstood what I said. You have real strength—even with the fox. You had a better chance at succeeding in the Chuunin Exams than Sasuke and Sakura did. I know you get the impression that I like Sasuke more than I like you, but that's not true, especially as of now."

"Now?"

"Sasuke and I are not on friendly terms since what happened. He….blames me for getting you kidnapped. Do you blame me?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. It was all my fault. I can't imagine why Sasuke would think it was yours, and if that's the case, then he would be at fault too, even Sakura. You know, when that guy came up behind me, I thought it was you and didn't react. I didn't even put up a fight when he pressed the kunai into my neck. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already slipping into unconscious. So, no, I don't blame you, or anyone at all for that."

_'I like you too much to blame you'_

"That makes us about even then."

Naruto got up and went over to rummage through the fridge in search of a snack. At the ramen stand, he had only had one bowl because his stomach was filled with butterflies at having Kakashi invite him to eat. Now he was hungry.

"Geez, sensei, I think we need to throw this fridge away. All this stuff has been here for more the two years!" He slammed the door and pressed his back to it, like the moldy things inside were going to come out and attack. Well one could never be too careful.

Kakashi chuckled and pointed to the hallway. "Call Ichiraku's and order some dinner. Whatever you want, on me, obviously. We could always buy groceries tomorrow."

Naruto jumped up and down and all around and did a cute little dance that Kakashi couldn't help but find a bit appealing. He ran down the hall to Kakashi's room and as soon as he was in Kakashi knew his wallet was going to be flat when the boy was done ordering. That was alright though. If that's what Naruto wanted, then Kakashi would feed him ramen until his bank account ran dry.

_'I have an unhealthy obsession with a kid'_

But that was okay too.

He leaned back in the chair, relaxed and finally happy to be home.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you hungry?!" Naruto yelled from his room.

Kakashi liked the thought of the blonde prettyboy in room, even though it wasn't under the circumstances he would have liked. And Kakashi wasn't in there with him. But he would be, because he wasn't about to yell across the room like Naruto did. He stood, thanked his stars again that his head didn't hurt, and slid the hitae-ate over his head. Naruto seemed to like the way he looked without it.

"Naruto, you can ju---

He stopped short and stared. Then gaped. Then let his jaw unhinge. Naruto was on his bed, watching him with the phone beside him, smiling. Naked.

Kakashi just stood where he was, eyes and mouth wide. They got even wider when Naruto lifted his arm to beckon him to the bed with a 'come-hither' gesture. Oh shit, did that mean he wanted Kakashi on the bed with him?

"Na-Naruto, what are you doing?" His mouth was dry, his teeth felt like chalk and the blood from his nose was starting to stain his mask. It was like something out of Icha Icha. Only better.

"Come here Kakashi-kun. I'm all alone over here, I need you to….keep me company."

Kakashi didn't remember going to the bed but the next thing he knew, he was hovering over Naruto and the blonde's hands were reaching for him. Naruto unceremoniously yanked Kakashi down on top of him by the arm holes in his vest and spread his legs around the Jounin's hips. Kakashi groaned, catching himself on his hands on either side of his horny student's shoulders, looking down into his eyes.

"Mmm, Kakashi-sensei that's nice…." He moaned, licking his full red lips to tease the man on top of him. Then he reached up ran his fingers along the edge of Kakashi's mask, and the Jounin already knew what he wanted. With a tug at the neck of his mask, it was gone and Naruto's lips were on his in an instant, letting out a precocious moan that had Kakashi lead hard in his baggy Jounin-issue pants. He experimentally rolled his hips against the aroused boy's own and caught his lower lip between his teeth, biting down and feeling the moan of rapture burst against his mouth.

Naruto whimpered when Kakashi slid his tongue into his mouth and held onto his sensei's shoulders tightly.

Reaching down to the teen's spread thighs, Kakashi wrapped his long tapered fingers around Naruto's erection and the boy whined loudly, thrusting his hips against the copy-nin's hand desperately. Kakashi began to stroke the gasping blonde's cock, being sure to avoid the bandage wrapped around his abdomen. Naruto took care not to move too much lest he hurt himself, but responded as openly to Kakashi's ministrations as he could.

"Ohh, Kakashi-sensei…senseeeiii….." Those moans sounded so nice…loud too…

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!"

Kakashi almost fell out of his seat at the sharp pain that went through his ear. His eyes popped open and looked for the source of the yell to see Naruto standing next to him with an irritated look on his face.

"Geez you're hard to wake up. I've been calling you forever!"

Kakashi groaned and looked at him, realizing that they were not in his bed, and the displeased seventeen year old was not naked and not moaning. Damn. It was all a dream. When had he fallen asleep?

"I asked you if you were hungry but I guess you went to sleep." Naruto said, noticing that Kakashi was giving him a strange look. "What?"

Kakashi shook himself out of his trance and mumbled a barely audible nothing. Naruto was kind of worried. Kakashi sounded unusually…disappointed.

"Well, so are you hungry or are you going to sleep here? I would have left you sleeping but you looked sort of uncomfortable the way you were gripping the table…"

Kakashi looked down to see that he was indeed still holding on to the edge of the table and let go, smiling sheepishly. "Oh…ahem….well…"

"Sensei I'm hungry, did you want some ramen too? I haven't ordered yet and I guess…if you don't want people to know we live together—

"I don't care."

Naruto looked at him like he said he was from another planet. "You don't?"

"Not if you don't. If you don't mind anyone knowing, I don't either. Order me two bowls of miso ramen, put it in the oven." Kakashi stood, "I'm going to take a nap." Leaving Naruto in the kitchen he slouched off to his room, mildly upset at being woken up when they were getting to the best part. Damn it was such a good dream and it felt so real, he could almost still feel Naruto's tightly clenched hands on his shoulders, he could almost still hear those breathy moans and pitiful whimpers…

'_He's right. I do need to get laid' _The Jounin thought gloomily to himself, sitting on his bed and picking up a pillow to bury his head in. Then he yanked the white cushion away from his face and glared at it. No, he didn't need a nap. Not in that room. He needed a walk, and if his luck was good, he would find a female somewhere willing to take care of his needs with no questions asked.

_'I haven't had sex in ages and I should have known something like that could never happen'_

For being a horny perv, Kakashi admitted, he did deserve that. Naruto didn't like him that way and he never would.

_'I guess it's me and some nameless woman tonight'_

He really wasn't looking forward to it at all.

TBC…..

I know the last chapter wasn't enough, so I did a rapid update for you guys and made it twice as long. I hope this holds you until the next chapter. Ja'ne.


	23. Chapter 23

Situational Hazard Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

A/N: Heller all! This is it! Ha! That is all.

* * *

Kakashi's night was not going great.

For starters, Genma kept telling him who he should sleep with, Kurenai and Asuma kept having indiscrete affairs in public places, too drunk out of their minds to see that they were being watched _and _videotaped, and girls kept making their skirts higher or breasts fuller to catch his attention, which _really _wasn't the way it was done. He sighed, downing his seventh drink for the night as another girl—no wait, the same girl from nearly an hour ago sauntered up to him with her tits hanging out of her clothes and her skirt just _barely _covering what it needed to cover.

"Kaka-kun, do you need anything else?" Kakashi cringed at the pet name and gave her a solid 'no'. She giggled and bounced away, all but making him sick.

"She's hot for you dude, why don't you just fuck her brains out in some alley so she can leave you alone? There's plenty of tail here and you keep turning them all down, what's with you Kakashi?" Genma already had one girl going crazy in his lap and another trying to smother him with her breasts, whether it was an assassination attempt or a seductive gesture, the other man couldn't care less at the moment.

He wanted to say 'Genma…shut up' but found that Genma was getting up and walking off with the two dark-haired women, no doubt to take them to a motel they would end up paying for because Genma was a cheap womanizing man-whore.

"So your friend left you, huh? Mine did too," said a pleasant voice behind him. He didn't want to turn around and see another airheaded bimbo but he did, to see a beautiful woman with soft brown eyes and short brown hair with a nice smile. He turned fully in his seat, making sure to keep the boredness in his eye. He decide to keep his hitae-ate covering his other eye despite what Naruto said, just so that people wouldn't pay any more attention to him than they already did.

"Sorry to bother you…I uh…I see that this is far from the first time a girl has approached you. I'm not…I mean I am….no—wait, I…"

"Why don't you have a seat?" He said, just so she didn't stutter herself to death.

She sat down, glancing at the chair like it was going to eat her before smiling pleasantly up at him. "I'm sorry. Well…."

"Well….?" He mimicked, already tired with the innocent girl act.

"Would you….like to dance with me?"

"No." He responded shortly. The girl looked like someone denied her air. She stood and apologized again. He sighed tiredly.

"I don't dance."

She stopped and turned. "I can't dance either."

"I don't dance." He repeated. The girl looked a little disappointed, but smiled again anyway.

"I guess that means…."

He nodded and she slowly moved away, glancing back at him woefully.

It was time to get out of there, he mused. His attempts, if anyone could call them that, at finding a girl for the night had failed. They were either too brainless, too skinny, to big, too shy, too tactless, too forward, too slutty, too classless, or too ugly. Why couldn't they be more spontaneous, more entertaining, more feisty, more beautiful, more perfect, more….more…._blonde…_

'_Like Naruto'_

He really had to get out of there now. Paying for the drinks he had, he got up and dragged his drunk ass out of the bar, passing couples and loners chatting outside, some drunker than others and kissing on guys that were supposed to be their best friend. Kotetsu and Izumo were making out like they were drowning, Kotetsu had his best friend up against a wall with the younger man straddling his hips only being held up by Kotetsu's sheer horniness, panting and grinding and moaning.

Kakashi had seen enough, walking faster when he noticed that Asuma had spotted him. He figured he would go and spend the night in some tree in the forest, not trusting himself to go home to the blonde temptation. He couldn't stop thinking about the dream. The way Naruto was writhing against him, moaning softly, looking so beautiful and sexy and--

"Oi Kakashi!" Oh no. Without turning around he walked faster, trying to get away from Anko as fast as he could. Suddenly she was in front of him. Damn it.

"Hey, where'ya goin' in such a hurry? She asked cheekily, popping her gum in his face.

'_Please go away, please go away, please go away' _He chanted in his head. Anko did not go away, and he knew it would be a cold day in hell before his prayers were answered.

"Come on, Kashi, hold up! You goin' home already?"

"Yes, Anko." If he could just duck into that crowd up ahead…

"Well, if ya spending the night alone, I could keep ya company."

"No thank you, Anko." One had to be straightforward with a woman like Mitarashi Anko, or she would turn everything he said into innuendo of some sort.

Anko stared at him while they walked. She hadn't missed the look he had on his face since he stepped into the bar, like he had lost his best friend and didn't want to be there. She was good at cheering people up, or so she had been told by a drunken Raidou, and if her friend needed cheering then by Kami she was going to--

"Leave me alone, Anko."

Well she wasn't going to do that, but there was something in his voice that made her worried, and like any good friend, she wanted to help him out. "Alright, Kakashi. I hope that whoever it is feels the same way you do."

Kakashi was stunned. How did she know? Without asking, he gave her an inquisitive look and she winked. "I know you Kakashi. You've been through anything and everything, but if you come to a bar and don't take a girl home, then it's somebody else. You're not used to liking people, so I'm guessing that this one is a real catch. Don't worry, I won't tell." She smiled sincerely, and waved at him before disappearing into a crowd of gyrating ninja, immediately rubbing up against some unsuspecting woman, who turned around and reciprocated with a smirk.

It seemed like everyone and their dog had found someone to spend the night with, whether it was impersonal or relational, even Kotetsu and Izumo apparently discovered their feelings for each other.

_'I wish it were that easy'_

Just how many people fell for their students the wa--

_'Fell for him? Do I really feel that strongly about him?'_

What little that could be said about Hatake Kakashi's feelings never went beyond companionship or camaraderie, both of which he felt in strong detail for his blonde haired housemate. God forbid anyone other than Anko found out that he had a crush on his own younger student, he would never hear the end of it. People had long since accepted Gai and Lee's obscenely strange relationship, but never had Kakashi seen his rival hard up for the boy, even if they didn't have that kind of thing going on. Asking Gai personally if he and Lee were in a relationship was liable to get him either screamed to death, or beaten up, neither of which he was looking forward to. Why did it have to be him with the terrible luck? Couldn't it just as easily have been Gai? Because then they would have something in common….or was Gai just really good at hiding his feelings? No relationship like that could be normal for two males to have….

He supposed he would go camp out by the memorial stone tonight, and talk to his sensei about it. He knew that if he went home too soon that he would just feel worse.

When he got to the memorial stone, he swallowed hard and slumped down against it, leaning his head down until his chin touched his chest.

"Minato-sensei…please don't be angry with me…"

* * *

He hadn't seen Kakashi leave so when the ramen arrived, the money was already on the nightstand in his room and Teuchi gave him an even stranger look than he had at the ramen stand.

"This is the Hatake residence, isn't it?" He asked inquisitively.

"Yes." Naruto gritted, trying not to get too annoyed. If that nosy old man didn't stop asking him questions he was going to get very nasty about it. So what if he was at Kakashi's house alone?

"Is Hatake-san home?"

"Obviously not. Look, thanks for the ramen, and bye." He gently pushed Teuchi out the door and made sure to slam it hard in his face. There went the docile relationship he had with the old man, going to eat ramen was never going to be the same again. But that was fine, because if anyone had a problem with him being with Kakashi, then they could fuck off. Not that he was 'with' Kakashi per say, but living with him was close enough.

'Though I wonder what Kakashi-sensei would say if people actually thought we were 'together'?'

No doubt was the old man going to spread some over-exaggerated rumors about it, in a few hours time the entire village of Konoha would know. How would Kakashi react to it? He said he didn't care, but did that mean he was willing to take whatever heat came along with that? Their relationship was not like Gai and Lee's. Gai was weird, and so was Lee, but at least he was normal. Naruto was more worried about what his teacher would think than what the villagers would say or do.

Kakashi had been gone for six hours, and though it was none of his business what the man did, Naruto couldn't help but be a little worried or wonder where he was. Kakashi had said he was going to take a nap, but when Naruto went to tell him that the food had arrived, he found the window open and his sensei gone. Naruto's mood deflated. He wondered if Kakashi had left because of something he said. Maybe he was uncomfortable with the conversation about caring for one another, or maybe he was just uncomfortable with Naruto in general.

He hoped it was neither of the two. He had been up since Kakashi left, and not out of curiosity to see what hour the man would stumble into the house, but because he couldn't sleep wondering if Kakashi was upset over something. Upset over him.

He ate his noodles with far less fervor than he usually did, barely tasting the beef and egg. He wished Kakashi were home. He wanted the man to always be home, but he knew how selfish and impossible that was. If Kakashi had been called for a mission, he would know because Kakashi would tell him.

Right?

"Of course he would." Because Kakashi cared about him. Kakashi liked him. Sitting in his room now, thinking about all the things that could horribly wrong for living with the famous copy-nin, his mind had concocted various ways Kakashi would find for reasons not to like him anymore. He was so deep in thought that when a loud sound in the kitchen brought him out of it, he wasn't quick enough to pick up a kunai and instead froze and stared. Then a split second later he had his weapon in hand and silently crept out of his room and into the dark hallway.

"If you aren't who I think you are I'll kill you where you stand."

He knew better than to divulge whose residence he was at, lest some enemy nin were looking for Kakashi.

"Shit." The intruder cursed, sounding slurred and disorientated. Naruto went closer, already having his hands in the seal for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, just in case the person tried anything funny.

"Naruto…" The voice sounded, and more stumbling and noises coming closer to him. He raised his kunai and took a step backward. The figure came into view and his eyes widened, discovering that it was Kakashi, slumped over and looking kind of haggard. He almost fell forward into Naruto, who hadn't dropped the kunai.

"Kakashi-sensei? What happened to you?" Kakashi was so close now he could smell the strong eye-watering stench of alcohol. He almost reeled away from the drunken man.

"Nothing why would you think something happened to me?" Kakashi asked in one slurred breath. All he needed was his bed, he didn't need to be near the object of his momentary madness. If he could just get passed the boy without falling…

"Y-you're drunk." Kakashi gave a lopsided grin in the dark.

"Yes I am."

Naruto hadn't know where he had gone, but now he had a pretty good idea. Kakashi went to the bar to pick up a girl and the though made Naruto's stomach curl in displeasure. And it had been his idea too.

"You should have stayed with her." He said, trying not to sound spiteful and jealous even though he was.

Kakashi shrugged, not bothering to inquire who 'her' was and took a step forward. He hadn't realized how hard it was to move. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

Then he flipped the light on. And let out a strange squeak of shock. If he didn't know any better, the man standing, well, more like struggling to stand, in front of him was indeed Kakashi. Except for a few minor details. Kakashi hitae-ate was gone, he looked as if he had been in a dirt fight and lost terribly, and he was dripping wet.

"What happened? What the hell was that Kakashi-sensei?!" He almost ran to Kakashi. Almost.

"Bed…knew I shouldn't have let Yuugao trick me into thinking…" The Jounin muttered under his breath, managing to pass by Naruto without falling over in a drunken haze.

"Do you need help?" Naruto asked uneasily.

At this Kakashi stopped, stood very still as if his movements were no longer impaired and then stared back at Naruto with a startlingly expressive look. At that moment Kakashi was sober.

"Yes." Even saying this he started back to his room and Naruto was beginning to think that he should have been worried about his sensei. He began to follow Kakashi, intent on helping the man but when he got to the door, Kakashi said, "Goodnight Naruto," and closed the door.

Naruto was confused. Didn't he say he needed help?

"Must have meant psychological help." He said to himself, going back to his own room to finally, he hoped, get some sleep, especially since his stomach had been hurting since Kakashi had left.

* * *

The morning after always did bring with it the worse of thoughts. Like how fucked up he and his sorry excuse for a life was. Alcohol had a nice effect when being consumed, but the morning after was always like a self-imposed hell.

"Augh…" Kakashi groaned, not wanting to get out of bed but having to because his bladder was in almost dire need of relief. He thanked the gods that he was on mission leave for two months, as Konoha and Suna had traded ninja to boost relations and manpower, they didn't need him in action as long as they had Suna Chuunin, which were as efficient as Konoha Jounin.

On his way to the bathroom he considered that it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to torture himself a little longer in bed, but since he was going he might as well have just gotten up for the day.

After his morning wiz, which took two long minutes of his already crappy morning, he felt the near pitiful need to crawl back into his bed and feel sorry for himself. He had never been sad a day in his life, but right then, if someone told hi he was sad, he was inclined to believe them. Coming home in a drunken stupor…so glad he hadn't--

KNOCK….KNOCK.

The two knocks on his door were hesitant and slow but he knew who it was and why the person was taking such care to knock the way he did.

"Come in." He didn't want to think about he and Naruto in his room together—not again—but he didn't want to leave the comfort of his pillows, which were throwing their own pity party for him. He might as well have just gotten over it. That and he was too hung-over to deal with the awkwardness that would ensue if he were to suddenly start acting strange. Fixing his face and slipping on his mask, he did a perfect reversion of his usual self before his charge opened the door, looking worried.

"Uh. I'm sorry if I woke you up, I was just wondering…"

"I'm fine." He didn't smile. Why bother, Naruto would instantly be able to tell it was fake. And smiling hurt at the moment.

Naruto nodded sagely, kind of staring at Kakashi like he didn't believe him. The Jounin outwardly shrugged. What could he say?

"Yeah….so…" The blonde already looked lost, scratching the back of his head nervously and trying to hide his curious gaze as it wavered around Kakashi's room. The look on the boy's face was so cute and anxious that Kakashi just couldn't resist.

"Did you wake me up to look at my room?" He was already awake, and maybe now Naruto knew that, but that didn't stop the spiteful glare he sent the man's way.

"Here I am trying to see if you're okay and you don't even have the decency to be less of an asshole for just one stinking day even when I know you have a hangover!"

"Yes I have a hangover, I'm fine, and yet, you still haven't convinced me that you knocked on my door and ruined my precious sleep to do anything but snoop around my room." Kakashi watched the boy's face turn a comical shade of red and smiled with satisfaction, having forgotten in his pathetic daze what fun the teen was when he was mad.

"You!" Naruto seethed, a large vein visibly standing out against his forehead. He had the most tempting urge to make Kakashi's headache worse with the use of a large scroll the Jounin had hanging on the wall above his bed.

"Or did you just want to be in my bedroom alone with me?"

Naruto burned a darker shade of crimson and simply stood where he was. He was at such a loss for words. He hadn't even realized that that was exactly what was going on. He was in Kakashi bedroom, the man had on a sleeveless navy blue nightshirt, they were alone and….he turned around, mortified to see that he had also closed the door.

The words just weren't coming to him. He stood there, turned at the waist, staring at the closed door and after a while looked back at Kakashi with wide eyes, swallowing.

"N-no! Th-that's not why I came here! That's just a coincidence!" It really was, but it was an unfortunate one. It wasn't like Kakashi even wanted him there.

"That's too bad." Kakashi sounded a bit regretful, but Naruto just rolled his eyes and snorted. Of course, Kakashi was serious.

"Or did you want me to be in here alone with you? Sounded kind of hopeful to me," Naruto leered, hoping to get Kakashi to blush, for once even. Kakashi didn't say anything for a while, simply stared at him, wondering if he should go ahead and take the conversation to the uncomfortable place he knew it would go if he said what he wanted to say next. But then again, he had one hell of a hangover and if he had another one in the future, as he really didn't drink much, then it wouldn't matter at that point what he said. It was better to try his luck while he was still more or less young and not when some pretty younger girl grabbed Naruto's attention.

"Well, you are in here alone with me, so I got one thing I wanted." Stupid dream.

He tried not to look too lecherous when Naruto looked away, still blushing furiously. Was it bothering him? Was he nervous? There was nothing to be nervous about.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The boy asked in a quiet voice that Kakashi dared not think he heard hopeful curiosity in.

"Why did come here?" Kakashi asked instead of giving him an answer. On the other hand, he did want to know what Naruto had wanted in the first place.

"I was going to ask what you wanted for breakfast and I….wanted to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine. I'm not hungry. But…you can stay here if you want."

Naruto wanted to strangle himself for thinking improper thoughts of staying in his impossibly hot sensei's room alone…for no reason but to be there.

Then Kakashi pulled his covers back and patted the bed with a bright eyed smile and Naruto really wanted to go over there but didn't want to make an ass of himself if Kakashi wasn't serious.

"You can sit right here."

Naruto balked. "Stop playing Kakashi, you're not serious. I'm going back to my room."

Kakashi pouted under his mask. "But I'm not playing. I don't think you have anything to do and the doctor said that you shouldn't be moving around too much and you're here, and this bed is really big, and I'm pretty lonely over here all by my--

"Okay." Naruto gave in, cautiously making his way to the bed and giving Kakashi another wary glance before putting his hand on the mattress. He gulped silently and sat down as best as he could without disrupting the glowing disk on his stomach. Gods…Kakashi said he was lonely…it made his chest get tight and his head get light, but he wasn't going to say no to such a perfect opportunity. He may never be in bed with Kakashi again, and even though they weren't going to be doing any of the things the Naruto's horny undersexed mind was thinking of, that would be okay. Just to be near Kakashi was good enough for him. For now.

He tried to sit as fast away to the corner of the bed from the Jounin as he could, not wanting to invade the man's personal space, but Kakashi smiled and put his hand on the space in between them.

"You're sitting all the way over there like I'm going to eat you or something."

_'Though you do look tasty'_

Naruto took a shaky breath and moved closer, averting his eyes to the carpet, which he noticed had a big stain on it. Dried blood. Well, it was very interesting at the moment….

"So, how it going?" Kakashi began, wanting to start off on a docile note now that he had the teen in his bed. "Is your stomach feeling better?"

"Uh…" Naruto wanted to say something, but he looked up at Kakashi to answer him and almost forgot what it was. "I uh….a little."

"You seem kind of nervous." Kakashi observed calmly.

Goodness no, he wasn't nervous! He was just in bed with the hottest man alive and said man was in just his pj's and _both _of his beautiful eyes were out for him to see and he was really _close _and Naruto could feel his pants getting a bit tight but….no….he wasn't nervous.

He was scared to death.

And Kakashi was watching him. Hard.

"W-why are you staring at me like that?" He didn't really care, but what if he saw something he didn't like? What if…what if he looked down?

"I really should be going." He said but made no move to get up.

_'Unless you're willing to share those blankets'_

Kakashi ignored him and continued to stare. "Any girls out there that catch your eye? I would say you're about the age to get a girlfriend, maybe Sakura's interested, she sure seemed like it in Ichiraku's." He mindfully hoped that any girl Naruto might have like got sent away on a terrible long mission or found another guy to like. And Sakura…he hated to think how things would turn out if they got together. Ugh.

"I don't like girls." Naruto's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth in shock. He hadn't meant to say that at all! He meant to say that there were no girls that he liked…but…shit, what the hell would Kakashi think?!

"_**Really**_?" Kakashi said, astonished at his luck. Naruto was gay. Wow.

Yes!

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that…I mean I…." Naruto was almost purple now.

"You don't like girls…so who do you like?" Kakashi proceeded carefully.

"I should go." Naruto stood, luckily his erection was brutally killed by his accidental confession.

"Is it Sasuke?"

Naruto stopped walking to the door and froze. Kakashi frowned. It would be that little traitor.

Naruto turned slowly, with the most disgusted grimace on his face. "I'd sooner date Akamaru than go out with him!" He growled.

"Kiba?"

" Ew…stop guessing."

Kakashi's hope was dwindling by the second but he had to keep digging. "Describe him." Naruto didn't have to tell him anything, but if he showed interest, then maybe Naruto would tell him something that would give him a clue. Maybe Naruto would like him.

Naruto sighed and stood near the door, opening it. Nothing worth trying wasn't worth trying. "He's taller, older, smarter and stronger than I am."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Well….that described too many people.

"Something a bit less broad and vague." He pressed.

"Why do you want to know Kakashi?" Naruto asked exasperatedly. His stomach was beginning to burn and he wanted to go lock himself in his room and beat his head in with his pillow for being so stupid.

"I thought we could talk about it seeing as it makes you uncomfortable. Maybe I can even help you."

"You can't."

"You won't even give me a hair and eye color?"

NO! It would be too easy for him to figure it out and Naruto didn't like the thought of rejection. At all.

""No."

"Do I know him?"

Naruto hesitated. Kakashi had moved to the edge of his bed and was now sitting up, watching him expectantly. Why did he want to know so badly?

"Yeah."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed into calculating slits. He would figure out who it was, and when he did, that person was going to meet with an unfortunate fate.

"Is it Iruka?"

Naruto looked mortified. "No! He's like my older brother! What kind of fiend would I be?!"

_'Thank Kami'_ Kakashi thought.

"Age?"

"He's not that old, just older than me."

"Age. Height?"

"Aren't you kind of obsessive?"

"Not at all."

The blonde shook his head. Alright then, if Kakashi really wanted to know…

"29. 6 foot."

Gai…not Asuma…Raidou…Tenzou?!

"Tenzou?"

"No way, that guy's freaky!" Naruto snapped.

Kakashi knew better than to say Gai.

Asuma was 6'2 and…he was with Kurenai.

"Well, coincidentally, I'm 29 years old and exactly 6 feet tall. But you don't mean me…. Do you?" Kakashi's heart was about to leap out of his throat. He had never wanted anything more in his life than to hear the beautiful boy at his door say yes. He was so on edge with anticipation that his head didn't even hurt anymore. Luckily he managed to keep a straight face.

"I'm going to my room now."

Kakashi jumped up from his bed and ran to the door, grabbing Naruto's arm and spinning him around.

"Wait! Tell me."

Naruto looked at his arm then at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Is it? Is it me?" Kakashi loosened his grip on the boy's wrist, not wanting to scare him anymore. Damn he could feel his heart beating so hard he was sure the world could hear it.

Naruto tried to shake out of his grip, but it wasn't happening. What could he do now? He was caught. Kakashi would hate him when he found out. How could he be so stupid? How could he even give that much information away? Why couldn't he just accept what he already had, why'd he have to mess up a good thing?

"It is, isn't it?" Naruto didn't answer him, but looked down and that was all the incentive Kakashi needed.

'_There is a god!'_

With his free hand, he yanked his mask down and grabbed the back of the now crying boy's head. Instinctively Naruto looked up and Kakashi went for the plunge and placed the softest, warmest, sweetest kiss he had ever felt on his lips. Blue eyes went several degrees wider and Naruto's mouth opened in a gasp, which Kakashi took full advantage of and slipped his tongue inside.

All of a sudden a broken sob escaped him and the Jounin pulled away.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry for that. I just…I've been wanting to do that since…a long ti--

Naruto still looked stunned and his mouth was still gaping open. Kakashi didn't have his mask on.

"Ah…" He stuttered stupidly. Jesus, what was he supposed to do?! Kakashi had kissed him! And his face…

"You're…you're…

"Not wearing my mask?"

Naruto shook his head. "You're beautiful…" He whispered in awe. Kakashi gave him a funny look and laughed.

"Now what word am I going to use to describe you? I was set on beautiful, but we can't very well share that word. How about this? You're beautiful, I'll be handsome."

Naruto shook his head again. "No…beautiful."

Kakashi couldn't resist and kissed the blonde again and for his effort Naruto shyly kissed back. Kakashi moaned into his mouth when the sweetness of Naruto's tongue touched his. Kami, the boy tasted just like licorice and cherries, not at all like ramen the way Kakashi thought he would. Not that that would have been bad.

Naruto cried happily while they kissed, wrapping his arms around Kakashi's neck and the man's hands made their way down his back and slipped under his shirt. Kakashi smirked and chuckled into the kiss, feeling a distinct hardness pressing into his thigh, very near to his own. Deciding that neither of them were the most innocent beings on earth, experienced or not, he pulled Naruto to the left a bit and smoothly rubbed his cloth covered erection against the teenager's. Naruto gasped and went boneless against him.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Please," Kakashi kissed his way down the pretty kitsune's jaw and took an experimental nip at the soft flesh of his neck. "Just call me Kakashi."

Naruto let out a soft whine when he felt the copy-nin's lips at his neck, pressing his body as close as he could without disrupting the device on his stomach. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Kakashi to react the way he did to his confession. He couldn't fathom Kakashi reacting in any other way but disgust and when the Jounin grabbed his head and planted that heavenly kiss on his lips, all he could do was be surprised. Then he started crying because he was the happiest he had ever been in his life. Kakashi liked him back. Oh god, why did he wait so long? The way Kakashi was nibbling on his neck…kami it felt so good.

"I –I thought…I thought you couldn't like me that way. I never knew…" He whispered nervously. Kakashi smiled into his collarbone and held him tighter.

"Wasn't it you who said 'you don't know anything until you try'?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Did you mean, I mean, intentionally, for me to find out when you described the person you liked? Were you trying? Or did you really think I was that blind?"

Naruto groaned and buried his face into Kakashi's surprisingly soft silver hair. Honestly, he hadn't seen the question coming, but all the same he was already prepared with an answer. "I guess on some unconscious level, I was trying to tell you without actually telling you. But I should have known that you figure it out. You're you, you're always going on about 'underneath the underneath' and, well, I didn't think I was making it obvious."

"You weren't."

"Huh."

Kakashi pulled away and walked with him over to his bed to sit down. "In fact, I couldn't tell at all. I've felt this way, and I don't know exactly what way that is, but I've felt it for a long time. Since before….you'd be surprised how happy I was to know that you cared about me."

"You weren't the only one!"

Kakashi laughed but then his face went serious, and for a moment Naruto thought that he had come to his senses. But the Jounin gave a curious look down at his stomach and frowned deeper. "That….I'm sorry Naruto. It's my fault that you're like this. I did like you then, but it was lust that made me taunt you and made you leave. I think I…it's different now. I don't know if what I feel is love, it's hard to tell, but if it is, I wouldn't be surprised. I just want you to know that I really am sorry for everything that happened. Sometimes I don't think my sharingan was enough of a price to pay."

"Don't say that Kakashi." Naruto took his hand. "Because then the reason I got kidnapped was because I liked you too, the same way, back then. Things happen, sometimes its just coincidence. I'd like to think that what happened kind of…you know, brought us closer. Who knows what it would be like now? I definitely wouldn't have had the guts to even talk to you about liking someone."

"I'm glad you did. And …I want you to know, that I didn't meet anyone last night. You said that I should have stayed with her. There was no her, or him for that matter. Just you." And Kakashi smiled. A real smile that Naruto could see with his very own eyes.

"Just me? Hmm…well that's nice." Naruto gave a grin of his own and flopped back gently on the bed. Kakashi laid down next to him and pulled the blanket over himself and the boy, throwing a lazy but possessive arm over him.

"Would you like for this to remain between us or is this open to the public?" The choice was purely up to Naruto, and if he didn't want anyone else to know, then that way fine, Kakashi was good at keeping secrets.

Naruto didn't have to think about it. He already had one thing he was keeping from his friends, and he didn't want to be afraid for the rest of his life. And, with Kakashi at his side, he didn't have to be afraid alone.

"I want to tell the world. Well, maybe not the world," he chuckled, "but I'd like for Tsunade-baa and Sakura to know. Even Hinata…she'll be…I hope she gets better and sees that there are more fish in the sea."

"Sasuke is not going to be pleased with it."

"When is he ever pleased with anything?"

They both laughed. And it was simple. All was right for the time being. They were together, finally. Sure, Naruto would have rather not nearly lost his life in the process, but it was a sacrifice he didn't regret making. He and Kakashi were alive and together and that was all that mattered.

Oh, Naruto thought to himself with a smile.

_'Thanks Kyuubi'_

TBC

Well, FINALLY! Geez, and all it took was 23 chapters! Now, for those of you who want kinky sex, please relax, it'll come in my epilogue. A lot of things will. But after this, there is only one last chapter, and it's the epilogue. So…I am sincerely glad you all enjoyed and reviewed this story, I want to thank you all again, and when this is all finally done, I will work on OMG, Kakashi sensei is hot! and maybe a KakaIru, I love those.


	24. Chapter 24

A/n: I know

A/n: I know. I know. It took forever and half to finish this, but in my defense, please read the note at the end please. And enjoy.

Situational Hazard 24Epilogue

The first time Hinata Hyûga had seen Naruto in three years was probably the strangest thing that had ever happened to the blonde teenager. At first, she simply stared at him, as though she didn't know who he was, then she blinked multiple times, then the loudest, wailing, bitch of a scream exploded from her throat and then he was being crushed by a very skinny, very loud young woman. For someone as slight as she, the hug was almost bone crushing in its intensity. He gasped, wheezed, and fought for breath as his ribs closed up around his lungs at being held so tightly.

"Hinata, I think you're killing him," Sakura said gently, not wanting to upset the heiress and make the older girl to use her Byakugan. It wasn't uncommon for the ninja guards that kept watch on her to mysteriously have their chakra pathways blocked so that they were rendered immobile while the blue-haired kunoichi skipped off to see her son. Sakura didn't want to be unfortunate enough to get the young woman mad.

Hinata blushed profusely and released her heaving captive who promptly took a generous step backward and rubbed his nearly fracture ribs.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. Please forgive my greeting, it's just been so long…."

Naruto eyed her warily, wondering if it was alright to go near her again. He liked it better when she passed out upon seeing him. She could keep her murderous hugs to herself.

"We just came by to see how you and your son were doing. So where is the little fella?" Naruto looked around the large, glaringly orange room. What was up with that? Did it have something to do with him?

"They're bringing him in. You know…Naruto-kun, I don't love Sasuke and…."

Naruto wasn't sure he liked where the conversation was going so he gave a quick, pleading glance at Sakura and sighed as the pink-haired girl came to his rescue.

"That's alright, Hinata, but--

A dull thud and a moment later a man walked into the room carrying a tiny child with dark hair and eyes. The baby glared at the new visitors and Naruto was instantly and unpleasantly reminded of Sasuke Uchiha. He shuddered. The kid really did look like his rival.

Hinata took the child from the man's arms and smiled wryly at Naruto, as if she weren't sure she should have been proud of having a child that wasn't his. The kid was a bit scary, but he was cute after all. Sakura waved at him and he looked away defiantly, doing the perfect impression of his father.

"Ichigo, that's not nice. Sakura-san was trying to say hello." His mother scolded. The baby buried his head into her neck.

"That's a nice name for him Hinata, but I'm curious. Is he a Hyûga or an Uchiha?"

Hinata smiled at her son and bounced him, momentarily ignoring Naruto's question. She didn't want to tell him how much she hated her son's father and how much she wished he were an Uzumaki. He wasn't really a Hyuga without the colorless eyes and the Byakugan, but she didn't want to admit that he might have had more Uchiha in him than anything. Still, Ichigo was her son, and it didn't really matter from which clan he hailed from.

Sakura saw the look on Hinata's face and stepped in again to answer Naruto, who was waiting for Hinata to say something. "Well, he doesn't have white eyes, so maybe he's more like Sasuke. Anyway, I think he's a lot like Neji."

Naruto frowned at the thought. Either of the two geniuses was bad enough.

They spent the last of the hour catching up with Hinata and when it was time for them to go, the girl suddenly lost all the life she had in her eyes since they had walked in. She was alone again. Naruto was gone again. And she still had a baby who wouldn't even so much as smile at her.

Hinata pulled her chin down to her collarbone and went over to the door. Rapping on it lightly, the slot in the middle opened and she stuck her hand out.

Right then, she needed medication to numb the pain of loneliness.

* * *

Kakashi knew that he shouldn't have been worrying. He knew that he was being irrational when he reached over to his boyfriend's side of the bed and said boyfriend was not there and he almost freaked. He knew that Naruto was going to see Hinata. So why did he nearly have a stroke when Naruto was out of his sight?

_'Don't be an idiot, Hatake. He's strong enough now to take care of himself'_

Three months had passed and Naruto's wound had finally begun to heal with the help of his fox and the boy was doing better than ever. He was as bouncy as Kakashi had ever seen him, buoyant and energetic and _happy_. Going on a trip to the Konoha Asylum was not going to get him kidnapped.

Or so Kakashi hoped.

He had to admit, he was paranoid when it came to his blonde-haired mate. When Naruto had begun to go back out into the world, at first, Kakashi had stalked him religiously, following the Genin's every move. But then sanity got the better of him and he backed off, even taking the tracker out of Naruto's clothes and getting rid of the clones he had surrounding the teen wherever he went. Still, he was having a terrible time trying to convince himself not to worry.

As he walked through the village and past Ichiraku's he stopped when he saw a tall man sitting on one of the stools. The man had a long brown ponytail and slumping shoulders that reminded him a lot of himself. Could it have been….?

Kakashi walked closer until he was in the shop, slouching over to the stool closest to the man and sitting down. Without looking to his right, he said,

"You're a Jounin now."

Iruka looked up, surprised to see that he wasn't alone. He had been staring listlessly into his bowl for over five minutes and hadn't seen the other man come in. When he saw who it was, he then decided that he was either losing his mind or he had been on more missions than was healthy for his social life.

"You're….here." He whispered in disbelief. Kakashi's eyebrow disappeared into his headband at Iruka's words. Of course he was there, where else would he be?

"Naruto…is he…" Iruka swallowed the worried tone in his voice and silently hoped that Kakashi wouldn't ask him to finish the sentence.

"I'm surprised you haven't seen him. As soon as he was back on his feet, he was all over the village. You must have a lot of missions if you haven't noticed."

The younger man sighed shakily and his shoulders slumped further and Kakashi knew that the inclination was relief.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Iruka looked up at him, a bit perturbed at the question. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei? Doing what?" He was doing a lot of things to himself, some good, many bad. Kakash was a perceptive man by nature, but Iruka knew, and wished he didn't, that what the copy-nin was asking him had something to do with his new ranking.

"Naruto is alright. The Iruka I know would be the first one on a piece of information like that. The Iruka I know would not have to have some other shinobi tell him how his business is going." Kakashi said, an inkling of accusation in his voice.

"Well where is he then?" Iruka thought he did quite well hiding his excitement at the mention that Naruto was alright. He wanted to get off the stool and tear Konoha apart looking for the boy to see for himself if what Kakashi said was true. However, he was a Jounin now, and Jounin didn't do such things. Or so he had heard.

"I don't know, I stopped stalking him two days ago. He was sup--I mean, he went to see Hinata today. You've probably heard what happened to her. Anyhow, he should be back soon, and he should be passing by here on the way home."

"I—Iruka started, but was cut off as the older man put a friendly hand on his forearm.

"You should see him."

Iruka blinked and nodded, then frowned. He should see Naruto. Almost three years….he really should see the boy, who must have grown quite tall and handsome now. How could this information slip by him? Why hadn't anyone told him? Why hadn't Naruto come to see him?

"He didn't know were you lived and you aren't exactly the out and about type anymore. But that's not really why I stopped in here to talk to you, Iruka."

"It isn't?" Iruka asked cautiously, almost deathly afraid of some bad news to befall him.

Kakashi leveled him with a long stare. The ex-academy sensei had a six o'clock shadow, his tan skin roughened with scratches and his ponytail dipping just past his broad shoulders. He certainly looked like a Jounin.

"What is it Kakashi-san?" Iruka fixed his face with a strong glare, determined not to let whatever bomb Kakashi had to drop on him break his already wavering mentality.

"Naruto and I…." The copy-nin paused.

Iruka waited patiently. He would not rush any bad news.

"Naruto and I are together now."

Iruka just blinked.

Kakashi stared.

"I'm sorry, what?" It wasn't that Iruka hadn't heard him, he just had to make sure he had heard right.

"Together. As in a relationship. As in he's my boyfriend. As in we sleep in the same bed. As in—

"Shut up I get it now!" Iruka snapped, his face turning the familiar shade of red Kakashi actually had found himself missing. He waited for the younger man's reaction calmly, ready to take whatever his comrade had to dish out. Or course that meant he had to keep his guard up.

"I….I couldn't have seen that one coming from a foot away."

Well, Kakashi mused, Iruka wasn't hitting him, or yelling. In fact, Kakashi was more wary of his lack of anger than at his complacent reaction.

"You aren't mad?"

"What can I say or do? He not…he's not a kid anymore, not really. I guess deep inside I want to be angry, not at him, but at you because…anyway, if he's happy, then you know I would do anything to keep it that way."

"He's not happy with you becoming a Jounin."

Iruka laughed. "That's just like Naruto."

Kakashi scooted further up in his seat and knocked on the table. Ayame came to him and he ordered a cup of tea. She nodded, but not without giving him a look, which he not so subtly ignored.

"So you guys are dating? Wow, I remember the days when he would always complain about how lazy and perverted you were. How did that happen anyway?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't really know. He had been living with me for a while and I guess we just--

"He's been living with you? Since when? Why?"

Kakashi explained boredly and took his tea from the waitress. "Thank you." Turning back to Iruka, "I thought you should be the first one to know, as Naruto is comfortable with people knowing."

In Konoha, homosexual relationships were far from unheard of. Usually people kept their business to themselves and it was up to the villagers' deducing skills to figure it out, but other than that, it wasn't scorned or unaccepted. Or else Kakashi would have taken it to his grave.

"Does Hinata know?"

"I don't know if Naruto will tell her, but I'm sure she'll find out."

Iruka looked up from his bowl of noodles and was startled to see that Kakashi had slipped his mask down to take a sip of his tea. Kakashi looked up and caught him staring.

"Something wrong?"

"Uh…no. No. I just don't….see that everyday." He stuttered.

Kakashi grunted carelessly and put the cup down along with a few yen. "I'm going to go now. I'll tell Naruto we spoke. Do you want to tell me your address?"

"521 Gosung place. Jounin pad B, third floor 33."

"Hn. Alright then Iruka, he'll be seeing you soon. Good luck."

Iruka watched the other Jounin leave with a smile he hadn't smiled in years. Everything was alright then. At the thought of seeing Naruto soon, the sun got a bit brighter and so did his smile.

* * *

"So how are you and Kakashi-sensei doing?" Sakura had been away on a medical excursion for two months and hadn't had as much time to catch up with her friends as she would have liked. But when Naruto blushed and smiled awkwardly into his collar, she immediately new that it was something good.

"W-were fine, Sakura. We uh…we live together and--for a few months, not counting—and he's a bastard but--

"So you live with him? That's why it was so hard to find you guys. For a while…well, that's nice to hear. Is there anything else?"

"Huh?! N-no! I mean yes! I mean maybe…"

"Maybe? You act like you guys are having a secret affair." At this, Naruto turned crimson and said nothing. Sakura stopped walking.

"You are?!"

"No! I mean, it's not a secret if people know."

"So you are?" She asked again.

"We've been dating for three months, but you're the first to ask."

Sakura shook her head. As much as she hated to admit it, she had seen it coming. Kyuubi just made her suspicious, and while she didn't get everything that was going on between her teammate and her sensei, it was obvious they cared for each other a lot when she had seen them in the hospital. Kakashi did lose his most prized possession for the boy; he hadn't even given that much up for Sasuke so that meant something. Anyway, she smiled, Naruto sure looked cute when he blushed.

"So what do you think? Have you seen his face?"

Naruto was unsure of how he should respond. Would Kakashi appreciate him telling everyone how he looked? Well, considering the word beautiful was universally general, he guessed it couldn't hurt.

"Yeah he's really…he's handsome." Same thing, right?

"I thought so." Sakura giggled. Inside, she was a little hurt that she missed her chance with Naruto, but that was her own fault. She was happy for them even if she was upset that it took her so long to realize Naruto would have been a great boyfriend if she had given him the chance. Now Sasuke had run off and had a baby with Hinata and she and the other girl had missed out on Naruto. Sasuke really had ruined everything for almost everyone and to think that she had loved such a cold-hearted person without seeing the obvious facts right in front of her. It was times like that she could see why Tsunade-sempai always called her a fool.

"Alright well I'm gonna get going Sakura, I'll be seeing you around?" Kakashi might have bee looking for him. Besides, he wanted to get home early so he and his copy-nin boyfriend could have the rest of the day to themselves. Naruto had something very special planned. He was excited as he was nervous, but he was sure Kakashi would appreciate it.

"Hai." She had no plans. No boyfriend to go out with. No friends to meet. Nowhere to be.

"Sakura-san! Naruto-kun!" A loud, proper voice called out. They turned to see Lee and Gai-sensei running toward them, and Naruto, being the more occupied and less wanting to be aggravated of the two, decided that he should skip off before the two green-clad travesties caught up. He didn't do it often, but he would have to use a teleportation jutsu to escape because Gai and Lee were some speedy bastards.

"Sayonara Sakura!" He poofed away just as Lee skidded to a stop in front of Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, wait!" He called but the blonde was already gone. That was okay though, because he really was glad to see Sakura.

Normally, she would have cringed and found some excuse to leave but Lee looked as hopeful as she felt and she didn't decline his kind, loud invitation to have dinner with him. Gai had inconspicuously inched off and the two were alone.

"Yes?! Really?! Oh thank you! I promise I will be the most cool, hip, romantic man you have ever dated! I will shower you with divine petals of--

"What time do you want to pick me up Lee?" Sakura interrupted. If she had to see another mysterious sunset appear behind him or anymore 'manly tears' she just might have changed her mind.

"--Oh! Well! Er….I will pick you up at six. Yes. Six. I will not be even a second late! If I am late I will do one thousand arm-less back flips around Konoha!"

"That's nice Lee. I'll see you then." God forbid he was a second late, they might as well have forgotten about their date. Well, on the bright side at least she had filled in the blanks of her day.

* * *

When Naruto got home, he was half relieved and half disappointed that Kakashi wasn't there. Half relieved because he wasn't really sure what to do when he saw the man, and half disappointed because he didn't know where Kakashi was at the moment or how long it would take him to get home. No matter, he would wait as long as he had to, the longer the better until he was done with his plan. If he knew Kakashi, the man would be home within the hour, for some strange reason Naruto always felt as if he were being watched but in a good way, and usually Kakashi was always close to him wherever he went. Hopefully he would take his sweet time getting home because Naruto needed a few moments to gather up the courage, will, and gall that his plan required to work. Seeing as he had never done what he was about to do before, he just needed to get his wits in order before Kakashi got home.

If not…well he didn't want to wait any longer and was sure he would come up with something. A man like his boyfriend would have appreciated anything, but Naruto didn't want to do just anything. He wanted it to be special, or at least remotely appealing. He didn't have any experience being sexy unless he was a female, and he had never spent more than five minutes in Narumi's form. He was not a girl.

Climbing on the bed he and Kakashi shared in which the Jounin was usually content just holding him as they slept, the blonde quickly stripped the sheets and stuffed them in the hamper in the corner of the room and dropped to his knees, stuck his hand under the bed, and pulled out the new sheet and comforter set he had bought for the marker of their special evening. After setting them on the bed and stepping away to admire his work, Naruto took off into the bathroom and slammed the door a little harder than he had intended. Hopefully he had time to take a shower before his sensei got home. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, which he thought was the perfect time for all of his preparations to be finished. After thoroughly cleaning himself and putting on some flavored musk (let's not inquire about where he got such a thing), he paced into the kitchen and turned on the stove, already pulling things out of cupboards and the refrigerator that he had prepared hours in advance. Now that he was ready, all Kakashi had to do was come home and stay in the kitchen until he was done with dinner.

As he filled the pot with water for the rice, Naruto smiled to himself. He had never imagined that it would be so nice to have a boyfriend, and even nicer to have Kakashi for one. To be honest, he had never thought it would come to that. He had always envisioned himself alone and without anyone to spend his time with because that was the way things usually were. Of course, had he known that Hinata had loved him, he might not have been so alone, alas, he didn't have any feelings for her. He hadn't even imagined being with Sakura, it was just something for him to want until his desires focused on stronger wants. He never believed Kakashi would be that want. Naruto was an asker. All of his life he would ask for things, things everyone else had and he wanted, things he knew he could never have. In his confusion as to why he couldn't have those things, he never entertained the thought of actually getting them. When he discovered his feeling for his sensei, in the back of his mind, he asked to have the man. Consciously, he didn't think he stood a chance. Kakashi had surprised him, and if Naruto was being realistic, he would have told anyone that asked that he didn't know the reason why Kakashi liked him. The copy-nin tried to explain this, but Naruto just couldn't see the compatibility between himself, a lowly Genin with no life, no brains, and no looks to speak of, and a gorgeous, genius, sharingan-weilding Jounin. He just couldn't see it, no matter how hard he squinted. He had heard that opposites attracted, but he and Kakashi were not only opposites, they were incompatible. And yet they weren't. Because Kakashi liked him, for everything he was and all of the things he wasn't and Naruto knew this was true. His heart never spoke to him before, but now all he could hear in his head was how lucky he was and the voice kept pushing him to make every effort to make the Jounin happy, even if he didn't know exactly what to do.

Hence the reason why that night was going to be his first try, hopefully not a failed attempt.

While the rice cooked, he threw in some tempura and turned on the other two burners for his other dishes that he was cooking. Oh yes, he certainly had paid a few visits to Chouji's house for lessons on how to please the appetite and found that he was an excellent cook and if the saying was true that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach then Naruto was going to make his plight easy. He was no Akimichi Zuma, but he had been able to make Chouza drool _and _ask for seconds!

He bounced around patiently on one foot while the food cooked, hoping that Kakashi would take his time but be _on _time, for once. If dinner got even one degree cooler that it was when he set it out, he was not going to be a very happy camper.

* * *

It was probably best to give the boy his space, now that Kakashi already knew he was at home. After stal-- following the blonde home, he watched Naruto go inside from his spot in the trees. He didn't want to smother the boy and knew that his constant presence must have been at least annoying, to some degree he might have been able to sympathize with him if this was indeed the case.

He would make his arrival in three hours, just to give Naruto enough time to miss him, in the meantime he would go and have a good read under a tree or something. Usually if his book put him at satisfied ease for the day he would often stalk Iruka and bother him in the mission room until the Chuunin yelled at or tried to attack him. Iruka was a Jounin now, and Kakashi was dimly surprised that he wasn't the only displease by that. He missed teasing the volatile man until his face turned red and how Iruka used to fling kunai and anything else within his reach at him. Those were the days…

The book he was reading ended on an unsatisfying note, (to think that story had been going so well) so Kakashi stood an made his slow time consuming journey home to where his adorable kitsune boyfriend was surely waiting for him. It had been the first time in months he had given the younger one any real space and it itched at the back of his mind that all kinds of things could have happened, that he was making another mistake, but in the shinobi world, a ninja's instincts could also be his worst enemy and Kakashi would absolutely _not _give in to the temptation to booby trap their home and any area which Naruto walked on the off chance that somebody, even his beloved, might get hurt. Then where would that leave him?

As he neared their home, his canine-like nose picked up the scent of something delicious in the air. The only house around was theirs. Naruto must have been making dinner! And it smelled so good! Luckily, no one was around to see Kakashi's pace speed up with eager excitement to be where the smell of the food and Naruto were. Goodness he had never smelled anything so good!

Hurrying to the house, he stopped and paused at the front door, wondering what was going to greet him when he stepped inside. Anticipation welled up in his chest at seeing his gorgeous little fox container after what felt like forever in a day. He opened the door and calmly stepped inside, discarding his shoes by the wall and unzipping his vest.

Then he looked up.

Naruto was staring at him.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. Not only was the teenager staring, but he was blushing too. Kakashi cocked his head to the side.

"What?"

Naruto blinked and blushed deeper, looking away. "N-nothing. Um…I made dinner. It's uh…it's….

"It smells good." Kakashi supplied easily, walking around Naruto to go to the bathroom to clean up for dinner when Naruto stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"W-wait. Just…just wash your hands." God, what must that have sounded like?

Kakashi raised a brow. What was that all about? But he shrugged it off and went to wash his hands. Maybe Naruto was impatient to have him taste his food. Well, there was nothing wrong with that.

When he returned, Naruto had already set out all the food and was sitting down, watching him as he walked into the kitchen. As he sat down, he couldn't help but notice that the boy's gaze never left him and he could almost feel the heat radiating from Naruto's blush.

"Is something wrong?" He asked more out of worry than confusion.

Naruto did the same thing he did before and picked up his fork, poking at his food on the plate. "I made some dishes I thought you would like, of course it took some practice, but I think you'll like it. "

Was it just him, or did his usually loud, brash boyfriend seem a bit…shy?

He smiled under his mask at that. Was Naruto really that nervous that Kakashi wouldn't like what he made? Kakashi was sure it tasted as good as it smelled and as he took a bite of a juicy pork bun, indeed it was delicious and he enthusiastically tasted the rest, which were all more delicious than the last thing that touched his tongue. All the while he could feel Naruto's eyes on him.

He decided that he would ignore it until the meal was over and then cow Naruto into telling him what his issue was. It wasn't that Kakashi didn't like being watched by him, but it was rather strange, as it had never happened before.

He was halfway done with his food when suddenly Naruto stood, and left the kitchen without a word. Kakashi watched him go, wondering what had made him lose his appetite when he looked down and saw that Naruto had finished everything on his plate already. Quickly inhaling the rest of his food, he decided to go and find out if the boy was okay and went to their room, where he had seen him go.

Opening the door, "Alright Naruto, what's wrrrrouhh-- The air left his lungs.

Oh god.

There, in front of him, holy shit _right there! _was Naruto, lying on his back, spread out on dark blue silk sheets in all his naked glory, his head inclined by fluffy pillows, staring at him with a seductive grin.

Kakashi's mouth fell open under his mask as the blood rushed from his brain to the middle of his face and continued down. "Good lord…." He murmured in awe. He had never seen…he had never seen Naruto naked before.

He was **beautiful**.

Naruto's smile got wider and he picked up a hand to beckon Kakashi over to him with a wagging crook of his finger and the Jounin moved to him in a slow, obedient daze, his eyes still wide and his mouth still open. As he got closer, his eyes afforded him a better look at the blonde's body, the generous curves and tight muscles covered by soft, unblemished tan skin that looked so tasty Kakashi had to run a shaking hand over Naruto's chest, just to see if it felt as soft as it looked. Oh god, it did.

Naruto's stomach coiled with nervousness that belied his audacious smile as Kakashi's right hand trailed lightly from his pectorals to his abdomen and back up, as if he didn't believe the substance of Naruto's skin was real. To say he had butterflies in his stomach would be a blatant lie; it was more like someone was wringing his insides out. He lied there, wondering what he was going to do next because up until that point, he thought he had everything figured out. The second Kakashi walked in the room his mind went blank.

He didn't want to bore the man before they even got started so he found something to do with his hands, pulling them up to grasp Kakashi's arms and pull him down. Kakashi almost fell on top of him but caught himself on his elbows and brought his legs to settle on either side of the boy's thighs. Raising himself up on his palms, he looked down to take in the view of Naruto under him, all tanned and smooth and pulled up his hitae-ate, so that both of his eyes could drink in the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He sat back on Naruto's knees and watched the boy, his eyes journeying from his perfect cock to his reddened face and smiled when he saw that Naruto looked like he was going to pass out from nervousness.

"Relax, Naruto. I like this. I like this a lot." He whispered soothingly. His eyes went over Naruto's body again, gods, he didn't know where to begin. Staring back into Naruto's eyes, he slipped down his mask and leaned forward and brushed their noses together, didn't miss the way Naruto's breath hitched when he felt his breath across his lips.

The Jounin chuckled quietly then closed the distance between their mouths. Naruto's body instantly keened up into his own and the blonde let out a needy whimper against his lips. Kakashi cursed in his head and dipped his tongue into the teen's open mouth to taste him, not surprised to taste the remnants of their meal, but pleased to detect an underlying flavor of slightly salty butterscotch.

Naruto tried to arch his back to get as much contact from his hot sensei's body as he could but the man had annoyingly reached a hand down to hold his hips to the mattress, he mewled and at least attempted to elevate his chest, this time Kakashi allowed the movement, kissing a smoldering path down the blonde Genin's cheek and further down to investigate the hollow dip just under his ear. Naruto's cock pulsed so deeply his vision blurred and he closed his eyes, letting the silver-haired nin do whatever sinful thing he was now doing to his neck, still trying in vain to wiggle his way out of Kakashi's grip.

The older ninja snicker amusedly at the reactions he was getting out of his horny little boyfriend, gods the boy was so damn hot, the way he kept trying to rub his surely aching hard-on against his own, it was just so very sexy, Kakashi was tempted to give in and stop his teasing but then an almost inaudible 'please' escaped Naruto's lips and he didn't see the harm in trying to wring a few more of _those _out.

But, just to make sure he had heard right….

Naruto was in a pleasantly hazy world of euphoria when suddenly, the warmest sensation was on his dick and he choked on the gasp that left him in surprise when he looked down to see Kakashi's left hand curled around his throbbing erection.

"Aww, Kakashi!"

The hand on him began at an agonizingly slow pace, the grip tight, the strokes long, and even despite this, Naruto's mind was quickly spinning into delirium. He put as much effort as he could focus into his frazzled brain into moving his hips up to get more but Kakashi's gloved hand held him down while the other mysteriously ungloved one molested him. Damn it he wasn't going fast enough! Why was he going so slow? Why--

"Patience, baby. Good things come to those who wait." Well Naruto had news for him! Bad things came to those who wouldn't jack their ridiculously horny boyfriends off _faster_!

"Can we…can we practice patience later?" '_I'm kind of dying here'_

Kakashi didn't respond verbally but it became very obvious to Naruto as his hips strained up that Kakashi had at least considered his request. Finally the man was moving faster, not as fast as he wanted him to, but he'd have to work on that.

Seriously, nothing was going at all the way he had planned. He had mapped it all out perfectly. Kakashi would kiss him passionately, maybe some oral sex would be exchanged, then Kakashi would proceed to mercilessly fuck him into the mattress. _That _was the plan. But what the hell was this teasing shit? Damn it he needed to get the man to stop it and give him some real attention soon or else there wo--

Whatever he was thinking before had completely fled his mind when Kakashi suddenly shifted _a lot _lower and attached his mouth to the panting blonde's nipple. Naruto released a short gasp and the hands around Kakashi's neck dropped and came up to clutch at the Jounin's head, his torso simultaneously pushing up for more. But Kakashi wasn't having that either. As often as Naruto pushed, he pulled away just enough to steal a good whimper.

"Kakashi please stop that," he whined "I don't want to play games. I just want to--

"It's alright Naruto." Kakashi mumbled into his skin and a vein in Naruto's head twitched heatedly. It was not alright! What the fuck did he mean 'It's alright'? For who?! Naruto was tempted to ask who the hell were things going alright for and was about to open his mouth to do just that when he felt a wet, hot sensation slither across his belly and teeth _bite him _on the sensitive piece of skin above his belly button.

"What the—

Shit! How was he to know that he had a spot there?! Better, how did Kakashi know?! A sure tongue lashed out across the pinch of flesh between the inner markings of his seal and the dip in his belly button and naturally, he made a strange sound. What was strange about the sound was that it was something between a high-pitched yelp and a squeak. Kakashi looked up.

"Like that do you? I see…I'll have to remember that." Filing Naruto's reaction away in the back of his mind, he smiled down at the boy's crotch with a leery gaze and took his sweet precious time running his fingertips along the jutting bare hipbones, enjoying Naruto's clutching hands in his hair, softly, wordlessly begging him to do more. Oh how he wanted to do more, damn, he was torturing himself as much as he was torturing the poor soul under him. But. Control had to be maintained, otherwise he might ruin any future chances he might have had with his boyfriend if he just flipped the teen over and stuck his oh-so-very-hard-and-throbbing cock into his waiting hole. No, he couldn't do that, bad as he wanted to, he would never hurt Naruto.

Unless the boy begged for it.

Oh god, he had to stop those thoughts from entering his head!

Then his jaw slipped. Oops. That must have hu--

"Uh, god yes Kakashi!"

Sweet Kami! Could it be?! And his teeth had clamped down so hard too…damn it! Now his mind was shifting back to nailing Naruto's ass and just going for the goal! Maybe Naruto would like that to--no!

'_Think tame thoughts Kakashi…'_

"Do that again Kakashi-sensei please!" Naruto's hands were pushing his head down insistently and Kakashi, never one to miss a great opportunity, leant over and sank his teeth into warm skin and Naruto's entire lower half jerked up and his erection pressed against the underside of Kakashi chin. The older ninja had the strongest urge to bite the blonde until he bled but Naruto was a fit boy, there wasn't any meat at all on his stomach to enjoy so Kakashi moseyed on down to Naruto's creamy tan thigh and licked his lips.

Naruto, thinking that Kakashi was finally going for the goal, gave a particularly demanding push on the Jounin's head and imagine his surprise when instead of taking Naruto to the heaven he so desperately wanted to go, Kakashi nipped him sharply on the hollow of his inner thigh, so close to his cock, so close, yet so far but he couldn't help that cry that came out of his mouth when he felt the skin break and throb as blood poured out of the passionate wound.

Lapping up the sweet, strangely non-metallic tasting fluid and running his hot tongue back up to Naruto's hipbone, Kakashi shook his head out of the teenager's grip and the second they left his hair pinned them down to Naruto's sides. Naruto gave a heated start.

"Hey what's the big idea Kakashi?! You can't keep doing this to meeee!" So much for sounding demanding. Stupid desperation.

"Oh? Is something the matter? What's wrong, am I not doing it right?" Ignited blue orbs glowered down on him.

"No you--sensei quit being mean and just…." Naruto trailed off, not sure if he should just _say it _like that.

"I'm sorry, just 'what'?"

_'Stop humping the bed, Hatake!'_

"Uhhnnn…"

"Beg me Naruto. Tell me what you want. I need to hear you say it."

_'Need it so bad'_

Naruto faltered anxiously with his request, wondering how he should word it—if only Kakashi weren't still so bloody **cruel—**What if he thought he was talking about something else? What if he didn't even want to do that?

"Here's a hint," Kakashi smirked up at him seductively and licked the line of his index finger, "Don't think; just feel. Now tell me, what," and ran the wet warm finger from the base of Naruto's cock, up the shaft and teasingly in a silky voice, "do you want?"

"Oh my…!" He'd almost choked when Kakashi did that. For all he the reassurance the simple gesture put in head he still could find any words to say. Shuddering and twitching, he stared at his sensei, hoping to convey the idea with just his heavily lidded eyes.

Kakashi on the other hand just watched him for a while, watching the boy struggle to come up with a sentence worthy enough for compliance and decided that before the mood was killed something should happen. So he got up on his knees and stripped himself of his shirt, tossing it off to some corner and without missing a single beat and before Naruto could fully appreciate the display, swooped his head down to take the unsuspecting boy into his mouth.

"_Ahh!!_" A short, sharp scream tore from his throat as Kakashi's perfect lips made contact with his erect heat. "Oh my _god_!" Hands went to instinctively tangle in the man's hair but found that they were once again trapped at his sides, Naruto whined and bucked his hips and a broken sigh of satisfaction left him when there was no resistance against them. His dick sank into Kakashi's mouth and he took in a hissing breath as the Jounin sucked him slowly, taking his time moving his glistening lips back up to the head where a dangerous tongue played against his slit in a circular motion that made his head spin.

He swooned with a loud moan and a full-hearted attempt to push the rest of himself down his sensei's throat, not paying attention to the tightening grip he had on the lock of silver between his fists, so lost with pleasure he didn't even realize that his hands were free.

Kakashi groaned around him, allowing the younger stud to have a little control and listening to the sexy sounds he made each time his cock went a little deeper. With every urgent thrust of Naruto's hips, his own gave an involuntary jerk against the mattress. Aroused to the point of almost no return, Kakashi eased his mouth up and Naruto gave an uncharacteristic whimper of loss.

Suddenly, he leaned back and shoved himself off and away from Naruto.

The blonde gasped as his leg was dropped and the sucking, the heat, the _pleasure_,was suddenly gone. "W-wha-what the hell Kaka--

The Jounin grabbed him. There was a slightly crazed look in his eyes that scared Naruto.

"Let's play a game." His voice was strangely deep and raspy, and made Naruto worry a bit for the sudden change and his future prospects. He idly hoped if whatever game they were going to play would involve Kakashi putting that amazing mouth back on his cock.

"W-what kind of game?" He inquired anxiously.

Out of nowhere, a thick black rope was in Kakashi's hands. Naruto wondered if he should have panicked.

"Now, trust me Naruto, this will be fun. Might hurt at times, but you'll live."

What?! Whatever happened to being as gentle as possible?! He was yanked up uncomfortably to his knees and into Kakashi's chest, his hands tugged behind his back. "H-hey! What are you doing?!" He was NOT afraid! He was just pissed and curious. They were doing just fine until the idiot had to stop! He didn't want to play any games, he just wanted to be fucked, was that too much to ask?!

"There was a thing I wanted to try that I read in the new Icha Icha Contact series. I think you'll li--

"You're going to try something on me that you got out of a book?!" Naruto snapped furiously. Jiraiya hadn't stopped making that shit _yet_?!

"But Naruto," Kakashi explained, "I've always wanted to try this on you, I just didn't think I would have the chance so soon. We may have to go on a mission any day now, and it would suck terribly if I didn't get to do it. Please?"

A vein simmered in Naruto's head, but as Kakashi pleaded, his face had contorted into something too cute for a killer like him. No. A killer shouldn't have been so adorable. But no. Kakashi's eyes were digging directly into his soul with that look. That look--

"Argh! Fine! Yeah yeah, do whatever, but it better not hurt!"

Kakashi suddenly looked unsure of something.

"What?"

"I can't promise that it won't hurt."

Wha—

"But you'll just have to trust me, ne?"

Naruto grumbled wordlessly and allowed Kakashi to tie his hands with the rope he was sure was infused with Kakashi's chakra. If there was one thing he wanted from this night, it was for both of them to be satisfied and if bondage satisfied Kakashi, then he would just have to ride it out and see for himself.

"But if I don't like it, we stop, deal?" He said in a low, slightly worried voice. He wasn't scared, but he had never trusted anyone this much in his life. He didn't want to believe that Kakashi would hurt him, but people did fucked up things to him all the time. He wanted to trust Kakashi. He wanted to.

And not that he was afraid of the pain. Physical pain, he could handle, hell he didn't mind. His biggest problem was emotional and psychological pain. If Kakashi was toying with him, no matter how many cuts and bruised he was left with, nothing would be hurt more than his feelings. It had taken him a lot of nerve to finally give himself to the man; if Kakashi crushed his trust and feelings now, Naruto didn't know if he would be able to recover.

He gulped. He wanted to trust Kakashi.

"Deal." Kakashi smiled broadly, perversely elated that Naruto had agreed. He knew it would be a long shot, but once he pulled out 'the eyes', he knew it was a done deal. It was times like this he was glad he didn't have the sharingan otherwise it might not have been cute so much as dangerous.

Naruto was turned over onto his stomach and his wrists were strapped together behind his back while Kakashi shuffled behind him to discard his pants. His legs we left free.

"You won't like this very much, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end."

Naruto wasn't even going to ask.

Kakashi pulled his lower half up on his knees and reached around him. Naruto might have been more excited at the prospect of being touched had Kakashi's hand not been glowing with chakra. Kakashi's middle finger and thumb formed a tight circle, then slowly opened up into a round hole surrounded by chakra.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing, just putting this little toy on you." Kakashi elaborated easily.

Toy?

Just then, Kakashi slid his connected fingers around and down Naruto erection until it reached the base. With space between their skin, his hand closed up tightly and for a second, Naruto felt an unnatural warmth go through his lower extremities.

"What does this do?" Back on the cautious rebound again, Naruto dared to even ask, more than aware that the answer would be chuckled more than said.

Sure enough, Kakashi laughed while explaining. "I guess if had told you what it was before, you wouldn't have allowed me to put it on you. This differs from the book in that I don't have a material ring, so I made use of my chakra, which I think will be far more effective. It's called a cock ring. It prevents the person unfortunate enough to be wearing it from having an orgasm. Usually, it's used for punishment purposes, but I don't want you to think you've done anything wrong.

Naruto wanted to ask why Kakashi deigned to put the thing on him but thought better of it, or rather forgot when Kakashi bent over behind him and took a sharp suckle on his earlobe. Damn the man was good with his mouth.

"This is strictly role-play, none of this is meant to hurt your feelings, but I think you're stronger than that than to let some names upset you. In this game, I'm in complete control, Naruto. Do you accept the conditions of this game?"

A brief nod and Kakashi continued. "You will do as I say, and punishment or reward will be given based on your actions. You have no choices but to tell me to stop. Saying 'no' will not end the game, you'll have to say stop. No safewords, no complaining. If you want me to stop, just say stop. Otherwise, I will continue and no amount of crying and whining will make me change my mind. Are we clear?"

Naruto bit his lip. Why was his dick beginning to throb at the idea of being told what to do? He never liked being told what to do by anyone, and even though he lost control often, he didn't want to relinquish it so easily. So why--

"Yes, sensei."

What the fuck?! He hadn't meant to say that! He was supposed to be thinking it over!

Kakashi bit down especially hard on his ear and he gave a short yelp. "Call me Master."

The subdued jinchuuriki nearly bit the lip he was worrying clean off. Shit! Master?! Did that mean he was a slave?!

"Yes, you are my slave and you'll do what I tell you. You are to address me as Master, or you not only does that cock ring stay on five minutes longer for each time you don't, but I'll spank this pretty little ass of yours until you do." All of a sudden, Naruto was reminded of his over-exposed position and instinctively tried to lay flat on his stomach, but a stinging slap to his bare cheeks and a rough hand pulling him up by his midsection soon changed his mind. For the first few seconds he struggled to get out of Kakashi's grip, but in two motions the other ninja was directly behind him and his head was forced into the pillow so hard he couldn't breath. Not that any breath was entering his lungs when Kakashi pressed his clothed hardness into his ass and rolled his hips forward, stealing the coherence from his thoughts and the struggle from his body.

"Oh _shit_!" he gasped loudly.

"Shut up, slave! I don't remember giving you permission to speak!" The command was followed by a blunt slap to his already stinging bottom and a particularly rough twist on his hair.

"I'll have to find a way to shut you up. Now then…" It wasn't that Kakashi was expecting anything to happen with Naruto so soon, but he just so happened to have a ball-gag lying around in a box in the back of his closet that he got with proof of purchase from Icha Icha's Hentai Shop by mail, and not that anyone would ask but he also had a small array of other toys he wanted to use on his handsome little Genin. For now, the gag would do. He quickly created a shadow clone to fetch the thing and kept it away from Naruto's sight until he was ready to use it. After all, he didn't want to have to use it if Naruto was going to be an obedient slave. Still, he would see how the boy's vocal control fared against a few 'tests'.

"Don't say a fucking word, slave!" He growled in the blonde's ear and Naruto shuddered but kept quiet. For an act, the voice Kakashi was using scared him enough to make him comply, though he thought it was really sexy that Kakashi was cursing, something he found that he liked a lot. For a brief moment he considered getting out of line again just to see what Kakashi would do but decided that he didn't want his ass to be a raging fire anytime soon. When he tried to cover himself, Kakashi did that super hot grinding motion against him but he couldn't be guaranteed that it would happen again should he try that one more time.

Kakashi grinned like a sadist behind his bright-haired lover and reached for the gag. Looking down at the perfect ass before him, he almost couldn't wait to force his cock through the tight pink hole that lay so open in front of him. He relaxed his fingers in the boy's hair and ran it back to Naruto's neck where it clenched around until his fingernails imprinted flesh. The other hand dropped the gag teased it's way around Naruto's thigh, up his hip and rested on his stomach right above the blonde's binded erection. He felt Naruto stiffen and exhale anxiously.

Naruto's body went rigid and the hairs on his back stood as Kakashi's fingers curled around his neck like. He whimpered when a hand ran from his leg to his stomach and began swirling around in a gesture that might have been comforting if it weren't so close to his about-ready-to-explode dick. Not that he could come if he wanted to. All the times his head spun and his body jerked with the beginnings of orgasms, a burning recession in his groin and the feeling was gone. Damn ring was going to kill him!

He didn't know what Kakashi was going to do to him, but whatever it was he hoped it was over soon so he could get the ring off. He wasn't sure what Master/Slave sex was like or what it involved but if all he had to do was keep quiet then he was sure he would survive.

Until Kakashi pressed the head of his now naked cock against his asshole. He couldn't stop the shout of surprise if he tried. "Kakashi!" It scared him and excited him at the same time. He wasn't sure if Kakashi would prepare him but it made him a tad fearful that the man would just plunge right in without so much as a finger's aid. Unfortunately, he had other things to worry about now.

"What the fuck did I say?!" An almost hair-tearing snatch of his golden spikes and a too-strong grip on his penis and Naruto was crying out for a different reason.

"Disobedient little brat…" Kakashi muttered, but he didn't go for the gag. Instead, he dragged Naruto back further to the edge of the bed and crawled around to Naruto's front on his knees. He lifted the nervous looking boy's head and leveled it with his stomach.

He stared down in Naruto's eyes and the blonde stared back and Kakashi bit his lip and looked down. "You don't have very many choices, slave, don't get used to this. But I'm going to be nice just this once and give you one. You can either have this," Kakashi showed him the gag, which was only slightly smaller than a tennis ball, "shoved into your mouth until I'm ready to take it out, or," he took his cock in his hand, "you can try and please your way out of your next punishment."

Naruto looked down and almost choked on his inhaled gasp of shock. He didn't know what nine and a half inches looked like, but the first words that popped up in his mind was, _'Damn that's big!' _He knew he had broken the rules when he talked and expected the harsh slap to his ass, but the gag was something he didn't foresee. Neither was the dripping erection poised at his mouth.

Kakashi squeezed his cock; he could barely help himself when Naruto gave it a decisive look then ran his tongue over his bottom lip thoughtfully. He wished in the worst way that Naruto chose option number two. He wanted so bad to feel those plump, cherry lips sliding down his pole, so _bad_.

If there was one thing that aroused Naruto more than hearing his ridiculously gorgeous sensei's cool, bored voice utter words of profanity, it was Kakashi's big, hard, beautiful dick inches from his mouth, begging to be sucked. Oh man that shit was so sexy! He licked his lips and tucked his knees under him so that he didn't fall over.

"M-Master….I would like to…to redeem myself if it pleases you."

Kakashi released himself and once again held Naruto's face with both hands. "Why should I give you the chance?" If was going to carry out this role of Master, he was going to do so at its fullest extent.

Naruto fidgeted nervously. He was hoping it would be easier than that. "I…I promise I'll suck you good, Master. Please, Master, give me a chance to prove how sorry I am for breaking your rules." He was sorry after all. Sorry he couldn't get his arms out of the stupid rope!

"Mmm, good." Kakashi's hands were shaking but his face was strangely calm looking as he lowered Naruto's head until the teen's parted red lips touched the tip of his erection. The twitch in his arm was obvious. Warm breath puffed out and he shuddered, watched Naruto open his mouth, and when he felt his tongue it was then that his hands moved up to twine in Naruto's hair and his knees stiffened. "Uuhh…" he tried to be quiet but Naruto's tongue became animated and he moaned helplessly.

Not new to getting head, it almost shook him to the core that the feeling of this young boy's mouth was better than any female's he'd ever experienced. It seemed kind of….wrong. It felt right, but was so sinfully unfair that he had to go so long without knowing that there was something that felt that good. And let him not get started on the way Naruto's face looked like it belonged to a horny angel, heavy-lidded eyes, flushed cheeks, mouth full of his sensei's cock, shit it was such a beautiful sight.

Naruto didn't know what to do. He was sucking and moving his head up and down like he had read in that Icha Icha but Kakashi's reaction…he wanted a stronger one. Call him selfish but he wanted to make Kakashi go crazy, make him moan louder than he already was. It wasn't enough, he needed more.

Kakashi was breathing heavily and he didn't want to rush Naruto or hurt him but ooh he needed more. Remembering that he was the master, his brain had turned to the consistency of cheese in the last four minutes, he experimentally pulled his hips back and held the boy's face in place. Naruto's eyes never left his and his never left Naruto's, the raw sexuality in the blue irises made him keep his eyes locked, or maybe it was because he wanted to be looked in the eye while his slave was pleasuring him, whatever it was, it was hot.

"I think you need a lesson on how to please your master, little slave." He was the master, he could do that. He had already told Naruto the rules, now all the kid had to was follow like a good little slave.

Naruto moaned his assent and Kakashi blew air out of his cheeks. Every time the blonde got halfway down the shaft he would pull back. Naruto didn't think he was able to do much more than that otherwise he would have but the warning tightness in his throat told him that it was more plausible to just keep at what he was currently doing. Now Kakashi wanted more, it figured, the horny perv.

"Let's play with your gag reflex for a while, see how much you're able to take." He said in a soft deep tone that was a bit too controlled for Naruto's comfort. And besides, what the hell was a gag reflex? If it had the word 'gag' in it, then it couldn't be good.

"What's a--

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak!" The master thing must have been getting to him because he cocked his arm back and slapped Naruto across the face for his insolence. He hadn't wanted to do it, but rules were rules.

Naruto stared at him, shocked but not hurt. If anything his trapped erection was made more aware to him right then, had he a free hand he would have touched himself to tears. He bowed his head submissively and mumbled an apology, feeling like an idiot for forgetting his place.

Kakashi looked at him contemplatively. Naruto kept breaking the rules, maybe he thought Kakashi wasn't serious enough, maybe he wasn't taking the game serious enough, maybe he didn't feel enough like a slave.

Maybe Kakashi ought to teach him a lesson.

"You are no longer my slave, Naruto."

"But…but I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"Yes it will. You are no longer my slave, you're going to be my _bitch_ for the night."

Naruto's breathing stopped. Bitch? Was that somehow worse than slave? Did that mean he would be getting slapped more often? Whatever it meant, he almost choked on the sudden realization that not only had Kakashi cursed, which got him hot as hell, but he was going to be Kakashi Hatake's bitch! God!

"The next time you disobey me, I'm going to slap your ass black and blue. And if you concede to this behavior, what just happened will happen again."

Naruto didn't know if he should have been afraid or if he should have somehow tried to hump the bed. Kakashi was intimidating, that was for certain, but it made him that much sexier to Naruto.

'I'm such a glutton for violence'

The rope around his wrists was beginning to chafe at his constant wriggling and tugging. If he could just give his dick a few strokes without the ring….Really now, he couldn't come, so why the rope?

Kakashi stood on his knees straight and grabbed his head again, this time it wasn't the gentle hold it was last time. This was dragging, forcible movement of his head and he stumbled forward on the caps of his knees, lost his balance and smacked his lips firmly against the head of Kakashi's dick.

"Eager little bitch, huh?" Kakashi teased. One hand gathered a fistful of Naruto's long blonde hair and the other held his cock to squeeze and rub against the soft fullness of his boyfriend's lips. Naruto watched him with innocent, hazy cerulean eyes, one of them narrowed by the painful tugging of his hair as his soon-to-be lover leered silently at him, and opened his mouth. He was abruptly snatched forward so fast he was nearly choked to death just as Kakashi stopped short of triggering his gag-reflex, now that he had figured out by default what that was, he temporarily forgot his new title and tried to pull away so that he could gain some control of things, but with a very mean twist on his hair, Kakashi wordlessly reminded him that control was a luxury that he just didn't have anymore.

His mouth gaped around the hot-skinned thickness and he tried to get his tongue into a more comfortable position than the one it was currently in but his head started moving and he was quick to learn that if he attempted to readjust his tongue then his teeth would scrape Kakashi's skin and if just speaking out of turn earned him a slap, he didn't want to imagine what painful and/or torturous travesties the man would have in store for him. He didn't fight it anymore and when he was pulled back, safely got his tongue into the cave of his lower mouth and began sucking while Kakashi maneuvered his head at his desired pace, though Naruto found himself again thinking of how achingly hard he was and helped out by forcing himself further down in the hopes that it would be over soon and he would get to come. Had the cock ring not been on him, he would have taken his time but all he wanted to do was get some, any, sort feeling against his dick. He slid his tongue over every patch of skin he contacted even as Kakashi gave an exasperated moan and slowed the movement of his head, the speed of his tongue never slowed down and before he knew it he was bobbing on his own, sucking and licking and he was so far into it that he hadn't noticed Kakashi reach behind him and give the rope holding his hands one tug, freeing them. He was so hot and busy that when his hands gripped Kakashi's hips to support his pace, he didn't even know it. By then he was gone, high on horny, dying to come, and enjoying what he was doing so much he couldn't even open his eyes.

"Ugh, my _god_ that's so good." It was taking all Kakashi had to stay still and let the boy on his own. He just never imagined it could feel so great, as if he were a complete virgin to the feeling of getting his cock sucked, that one young teenage boy could make him swoon like that was incredible. All thought processes had ceased and with them his inhibitions and all that was left was Master and Bitch and Master's cock and Bitch's mouth and _oh god what sweet little bitch it was. _

"Come…ahh….come on bitch…you can do better than that…"

'_Well if your dick wasn't bigger than your ego I would, now would I?!' _Naruto snapped in his head. He was trying as bloody as hard as he could, it wasn't his fault he couldn't get more than half into his mouth, bad as he wanted it. Well then, that meant he just had to try harder. He would probably be the first Hokage to deepthroat a nine and a half inch cock but he had to start somewhere. The hand on top of his head was a tad too grabby-tuggy for his liking but fuck it, he would show Kakashi better than better.

_'Concentrate…can't be that hard…'_

He must have been a lot more innately experienced than he thought because the little bit of effort it took to push his throat out and open as if he were forcing a burp was all he needed to get the head to pop in neatly. He was so surprised that he swallowed reflexively and Kakashi howled an unintelligible version of his name. Naruto grinned inwardly and did it again, and again Kakashi reacted loudly.

The last few inches of his dick were so close to being in the heavenly confines of that tight hotness but the resistance of Naruto's clenching esophagus caused him to slow down so he didn't hurt himself and by then Kakashi wanted to just…argh.

"Naruto!" he gasped. As much as he wanted Naruto to be able to take all of him, what Kakashi wanted more than that was for him to move faster. Naruto groaned when Kakashi's hands took a handful of his hair and began steering his head with more desperation and he prepared himself as best as he could for when Kakashi choked him but the unpleasant gagging feeling didn't come. What came was….well….

Kakashi didn't make much noise at all when he came, it was actually like watching a silent movie. His mouth opened and closed, his teeth grinded together and his eyes squeezed themselves tightly shut but no other sounds came out save for a few strangled gasps that were barely audible as brief flashes of pain between euphoric bursts of pleasure left him unable to breath for while. Naruto was surprised when the sudden eruption of warm fluid entered his mouth but he swallowed anyway because it didn't taste so bad and it was either that or choke due to the volume it was leaving Kakashi. Even as fast as he consumed it, Kakashi was still shooting far faster than he could take it so he pulled away from Kakashi's shaking hands and closed his eyes. Hot wet splashes covered his left cheek and nose and he licked up what he could until Kakashi's orgasm slowed to a thick dripping then he put the head in his mouth and sucked it dry. Kakashi made a whining noise in his throat and gently pushed on Naruto's head.

By the time Kakashi got his voice back all he could do was gasp. Out of bliss-lidded eyes he watch the sexy blonde scoop up some of the white cream on his face with his tongue and look up at him pleadingly. Kakashi was now beyond impatient.

"Tell me you have some lubricant someplace close." Naruto nodded to the pillow and Kakashi ripped the bottle out of from under it and almost immediately the boy jumped him. He fell back with Naruto sitting on top of him and before he could do much else Naruto dragged three fingers down the side of his face and smirked down at him.

It seemed that it would take more than one go to break this one, Kakashi thought solemnly to himself. There was just too much spontaneity in the boy. Just Naruto's luck, he was feeling rather pleased with the blowjob and decided to let that one go, just this once. Anyway, it would be kind of wrong to punish the boy currently sucking his come from his fingers.

"Ummm," the sunshine-haired fox moaned. The stuff did taste good, salty, but in a nice way. He would get used to having that everyday. Just as he was about to do something to Kakashi that involved the use of his now free hands he was suddenly neck over Kakashi's shoulder, knees astride the body underneath him and a slightly cold finger pressed against his hole.

"Ah!" It wasn't the action that surprised him, but that Kakashi immediately and firmly began caressing his hole with his middle finger. It felt so good his eyes instantly glazed over with a heated moan and his shaking fingers clenched into the Jounin's back on instinct.

"Tight little ass," Kakashi growled into his ear and he couldn't help but wriggle his hips back to get more pressure but Kakashi easily kept his distance short of insertion and just rubbed with his lubed finger loving the way Naruto mewled and hugged him tighter. He couldn't wait to thrust into that sweetness, how hot it was to the touch, smooth hairless asscheeks and a perfect little rosebud of a hole, he was insanely glad that he would be the first person in Naruto's life, and the only that would be able to do this with him. He loved the boy even more then, and Naruto was putting all of his trust into this night and Kakashi was going to make it more than worth it.

Naruto's teeth were enticingly close to the warm, spicy skin of Kakashi's neck and he longed to sink them into that soft flesh but couldn't stop moaning and crying out long enough to try it. Kakashi's open-mouthed breathing sped up in his ears as he reached over for the lube with his left hand and poured some down the boy's back until it cascaded between his cheeks and ran two fingers this time into the pool.

Naruto thought he was going to die. And it certainly wasn't a death he minded in comparison to whatever death surely awaited him someday. All the scenarios of what would have happened if the cock ring had not been on him ended with him coming without even so much as a hair touching him, he was that hot. His cries had escalated to yells as Kakashi played with his ass and slid his finger faster and pressed harder until the copy-nin just couldn't take it anymore and unceremoniously shoved both of them up into Naruto to the last knuckle and the teen's head flew back and he screamed into his ear.

The blonde was so horny and turned on by then he didn't even register the pain as an uncomfortable feeling. Kakashi grunted long and hard in his ear and started finger fucking the hell out him with no regards as to if he might have felt any discomfort, just too out of his mind with lust to care. Then, he just couldn't hold back any longer and pulled them out and positioned Naruto's ass above his dick and looked into the boy's eyes. And he would have gladly followed through with foreplay if he could help their first time together being so passionate and frenzied. Alas, it was just too hot to bear and he needed to fuck Naruto _now _or he would lose it.

"I love you." He rasped and pushed the entire length of his cock into Naruto. He let out a strained moan and squeezed his eyes shut. Naruto screamed his name and held on tight as Kakashi's shaking hands locked onto his hips and kept his writhing body still. But Naruto didn't want him to be still, he wanted the overwhelming feeling in his ass to explode over him and he wanted it _now. _

"Kakashi! Fuck me please, please go faster, please!!" He begged, trying to get the hold on his hips to loosen enough for him to move. For someone who never had anything remotely foreign in his ass, he sure was eager. Kakashi needed no more prompting and picked him up until just the tip was inside and Naruto knew what was coming but screamed at the top of his lungs anyway when he was roughly shoved back down so hard he almost choked. He threw his arms passionately around his new lover's neck and buried his face in the spiky silver bush of hair. He didn't even have to move, as horny as Kakashi was, he was just holding on for dear life.

"God yes…_god_ yes! Oh! Oohh shit, Naruto!" Kakashi hissed. The way Naruto's hole stroked him, it was like having heaven wrapped around his dick, like experiencing every worldly pleasure at the same time, then magnifying it again and again until he was slamming Naruto's lithe body down and pumping his hips up as fast and hard as he could. All thoughts of Master and slave fled his mind as they became on in a haze of smoldering flesh and sweat and Naruto screamed and cried, the tears wetting his already sweat dampened skin, convulsing in his arms like he was having a mini seizure, his eyes rolled into his head and even though they were closed, the closer he came to his orgasm, the lighter everything got until it was all white and sharp pains tore through his abdomen. Before he could ask, Kakashi went between them and surged chakra through the ring to break it then pulled out of him, laid him on his back and was back inside of him before he could even catch his breath.

All he could do was hold on and claw at the Jounin's back, arching and hyperventilating as all of the feelings that had built up since he had the ring on him came crashing down like disastrous ecstasy, so devastating, so good, so painfully good that his entire world went blaring white, his mind exploded and his body had gone totally out of his control. The pleasure of having Kakashi's huge cock inside of him, sliding in and out, the heat, the slippery tightness, the friction of his skin, the _rawness, _was something Naruto would have attributed to feeling alive. Only it felt so good he thought he were dying, and if he died right then he only hoped to go to a place that felt near as good. If fucking Kakashi wasn't heaven, he didn't want to go to that place. He loved the way Kakashi pounded his ass like the world was coming to an end, he loved the way Kakashi moaned and gasped his name in his ear, he loved they way Kakashi's cock was so big and so hard and he loved the way Kakashi used it. He loved the way the bed shook each time Kakashi descended on him, faster, harder, the way his prostate ached every time it was hit. The way Kakashi's sweat rained down on him like liquid aphrodisiac, the way the man's face looked as he reared back and came down, the sounds he made, the way he smelled. The pleasure, the feelings, it was perfect. The strenuous clasping of his thighs around Kakashi was all the warning the older man got when his younger lover's ass flexed then got painfully tight and before Kakashi knew it, he was already falling off the edge, gritting his teeth uncomfortably hard and emitting an unidentifiable growling/screaming (that belonged more to an animal than a man like himself) noise from deep in the workings of his voicebox from between his teeth.

When Naruto came at the same time Kakashi did, he screamed Kakashi's name to the heavens and nearly finished before he started, blacking out before his orgasm was even finished. Feeling the boy go oddly limp around his waist, Kakashi struggled to keep his arms up so not to crush him and his stomach convulsed rigidly as he emptied the last of his seed into his passed out mate. When he could no longer hold himself up to exhaustedly collapsed off to Naruto's side, regrettable falling on one of the boy's arms (but he wouldn't feel it so it was okay).

To say he was tired would have been a plain lie. All he got in edgewise was a brief look at his over-satiated boyfriend before he lost consciousness with a small smile on his face.

* * *

Nothing of relative importance had happened for two days. Well, not for Naruto who had been out cold the whole time. Kakashi woke up the next morning pleased, sore, and sated and his usually over-exuberant boyfriend was still lying on his back in the same lifeless position he had fallen asleep in, the first thought that entered the copy-nin's mind was:

_'Oh god, I fucked him to death!'_

Of course, all he had to do was put his hand to one of Naruto's pulses to find that the boy was fortunately still alive. Kakashi had completely worn him out.

_'Should I be proud of that?'_ He wondered laconically as he found himself dragging his feet to the bathroom and back to get washed up and do nothing but stay home and keep an eye on Naruto until he woke. Not that he was complaining, it wasn't like he had anything he would have rather been doing.

On the noon of the second day, Naruto's leg twitched. Kakashi so happened to be right next to the bed and as amusing as it might have been in another case, he was reminded of the hospital and the long hours of waiting. Nevertheless, he shook his head and prepared a smile for his waking beau. Blurry pools of blue slowly cracked open and looked confused for a moment before a wavering but broad, close-lipped grin followed.

Kakashi's smile slid off of his face.

He had seen that before. The red rimming around the eyes, the slightly paler skin, the quivering smile. Just to name the few he could see.

_'Chakra depletion?'_

It looked that way.

_'Damn it!'_

It had to have been the ring. The _chakra _ring. What was he thinking putting that thing on Naruto when the blonde was just getting his chakra levels back to normal? Idiot! He cursed himself. Suddenly his personal space was getting smaller and he blinked, surprised to find that he was being hugged. Naruto, as weak as he was and as heavy as his arms felt, felt like hugging his beautiful partner as soon as he laid eyes on him and took the Jounin's unguarded expression as an opportunity. It felt good to hug Kakashi, though he was mostly bone and muscle, sleek and hard, it still felt comfortable and warm. _Alive._

Kakashi looked at the yellow out of the corner of his eyes and wondered what got into the other. Not that hugging was out of the ordinary, he just didn't expect the first thing for the boy did after waking from a chakra depleted sleep was hug him. His arms must have felt like led and yet…when Kakashi's mind was starting a slow burning guilt trip of why he had been so stupid to use the ring, Naruto's hug was nonetheless as calming as he intended for it to be, whether he knew what Kakashi was thinking or not. So he reciprocated gently and leaned over to lay Naruto back down on the bed.

"Good afternoon to you too." Since Naruto had told him about his smiles, he caught himself smiling and laughing more than he had ever done in his life whenever the blonde beauty was about. Things were just happier or more amusing when it was just he and Naruto, no one else. It made sense too; Naruto's smiles were contagious now more than ever.

'_That's how bright and special he is. To lighten up the future of a man like me. Who else could do that but him?'_

Naruto grunted but didn't let go and he took it as a sign that he should lie down. It wouldn't be a long before he was hungry, Naruto had that kind of stomach. And about five minutes later, true to his image, Naruto's stomach let out an angry growl.

Kakashi chuckled. "I think two days is all it's going to stand for."

"Two days?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. You've been sleeping for two days." The look on Naruto's face made Kakashi roll over on top of him to suppress the panicked flailing and calm him down before things got out of hand.

"Relax you haven't missed anything except breakfast, lunch, dinner, and breakfast again. Lucky you woke up, I was beginning to get worried."

Naruto gave a concentrated stare at the far wall on the other side of the room. Then, "You almost fucked me to death!"

Kakashi had to laugh at that. Scarily true as it was, it was still funny, now that Naruto was awake.

'_Note to self: Kinks have limits. Abide by them wisely.'_

"Lunch?"

"Ramen?"

* * *

And that was all the fluffy stuff that went on before they ran into the one and only bastard-Uchiha just as they say down to eat.

"So it's true, you two are messing around," came the bitter tone Kakashi couldn't say he missed.

Naruto broke his chopsticks. Damn Sakura and her big ass mouth! He turned around slowly, trying to come up with something seething to say in response but as he faced Sasuke, he found that he couldn't do anything but glare.

"And if it is?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly, challenging the raven-haired young man to say something he didn't like.

"You bastard!" Sasuke, seemingly out of nowhere produces two staves and Teuchi, like the old man he was, ducked fearfully behind his counter.

"Cool your jets, asshole!" Naruto jumped up and stood in front of Kakashi, who hadn't even batted an eye to his former students obviously pent up rage.

"Shut up you slut!"

Naruto blinked, hard. "_What?!_" That fuckhole just called him a…a _what?!_

Sasuke looked between the two with wild eyes and grit his teeth. Since he had heard the news he hadn't been able to figure out which of them he wanted to kill first. All the effort he spent trying to get Naruto back—the hatred he felt toward Kakashi for taking enough interest in Naruto to kiss him, the fact that he almost _died _trying to saving the idiot, and for what? For them to be playing suck-face behind his back? To tell Sakura; to hear it from her, he was the _last person to know_!

Kakashi just looked at the Uchiha with mild pity. He wasn't going to stop Naruto from defending their honor. Despite his anger towards him, whether Sasuke knew it or not, the fight was between he and Naruto. For what reason, he couldn't be certain. Of all the possibilities, he would have assumed that Sasuke didn't like that Naruto's place in his eyes had changed. In other words, the boy had some sort of superiority complex.

"He's using you, you dummy! You think he likes you?! You're weak!" Sasuke had spent his entire week coming up with ways to keep his composure and there he was yelling like he had no control. He wasn't yelling at Naruto to keep him safe from Kakashi. It just wasn't fair. All the time they had known each other, Naruto was the idiot nobody liked, and for as long as he could remember, he had been the only one that hadn't really cared why. He would never admit to liking Naruto, but they had more together than they did apart. Kakashi always looked at him and never at Naruto. Never. He likely spent more time with the man than Naruto did. Kakashi didn't like Naruto, he didn't believe in him he didn't expect anything of him. It was all Sasuke. Then all of a sudden, all of the people Sasuke wanted to leave behind came back and all he wanted to do was redeem himself for his village. If he saved Naruto Kakashi would….

What the fuck did Naruto have that he didn't?!

Naruto turned red with rage. "How fucking dare you, Sasuke?! You come stomping in here and think you're going to fuck up the only thing I have that makes me happy?! You think you can just betray us the way you did and it wouldn't come back to bite you in the ass? You think you have the right to call me names and define my relationship with Kakashi?! Get over yourself Sasuke! I'm not going to be the unhappy man you spent our childhood belittling just so you wouldn't be the only one alone! You chose your fate, and I'm choosing mine!"

"You're nothing but a fuck-up Naruto! Just as soon as I left, you were all over him! You knew how much better I was, and had to throw yourself at him like a whore! Sakura and I bust our ass and risked our lives to bring you back! He should have never kissed you! You wouldn't have been a second thought in his mind if I stayed!"

"What the hell?!" Naruto's eyes got big. Did Sasuke and Kakashi…

Kakashi stood finally and slid an arm around his livid boyfriend's waist. He hadn't expected the reason for Sasuke being there was to fight over him with Naruto. He was right. It was a fight between them. About him.

"Sasuke—

"Shut up, Kakashi. Take all the time you need to get him out of your system. You're a Jounin, and he's still a Genin. You don't have time to mess around with him. If you come back to ANBU--

Kakashi sighed. Looked like he'd have to shut the kid down. "Sasuke."

Sasuke paused and glared at Naruto. "Let him go."

"Give it up. If I go back to ANBU, it's only on Naruto's terms. You don't have a say in this. Grow up and go and see the mother of your child. You have more important things to be worrying about than us. And trust me Sasuke, there will always be an 'us'. There will never be a 'me and you'. Besides," Kakashi walked out of the shop with his arm around Naruto and looked over his shoulder at Sasuke, whose glare couldn't have been any darker, "You're not my type."

Sasuke's frown deepened but he made no move to stop the pair from leaving. If Kakashi didn't see the mistake he was making for what it was, then all he could was sit back and watch Naruto's pain from the sidelines. Nevertheless, Naruto was happy. He had battled all of the odds and still came out with everything in tact. He couldn't help but admit it; Naruto was strong, willfully. He never let anything take him down, not even Sasuke himself. Naruto's feelings for Kakashi were different from his own. The way he felt about Kakashi was an attraction to the man's power and enigmatic demeanor, it had nothing to do with liking him. In his days as a Genin, the attention Kakashi gave him instead of Naruto didn't mean anything. Back then, he just thought it was because he was better. But as he matured, so did his comprehension, or so he had thought. He had assumed, and only then as he stood there he realized what an ass that made him, that Kakashi would always like him and he liked having that thought in his head, even if he didn't like Kakashi. Who the hell was Naruto anyway? He got Hinata's affections, and more respect than Sasuke did and he as just a stupid deadlast. Sakura had moved on and was dating that fruitcake of a taijustu master, not that Sasuke would ever consider her.

"Damn," He muttered. Oh well, there was always Hinata. But he would have to push her to be stronger and less emotionally strung. He would use her body to strengthen his clan and outbreed Hyûga. Of course, that meant interbreeding, but it wasn't like that was unheard of. He couldn't love her, but he would be there for his son. Lord knew if he left the child with her too long, he would be blushing and stuttering and all the other foolish things his mother did.

Anyway, it was better to let that little thing go. He would move on and leave Konoha when his son aged a few more years and make his own village of Uchiha and accomplish something even the greater founder had failed.

Sasuke put away his knives and put his hands in his pockets. He was going to take a _long _walk.

* * *

"The nerve of that bastard!" A certain blonde hothead vented. Kakashi just occupied himself in his book while his angry lover went off about arrogant assholes who could "just piss off already!" Never mind the fact that Sasuke helped save him, selfish reasons or not, Kakashi had to give the boy his thanks. Kami knew Naruto never would.

"And ugh! Seriously?! He had the hots for you and was jealous!" Kakashi sighed. How could he ignore such a loud person?

Then he smiled. He loved Naruto. Blonde, foxy, and loud.

END!!

Look, I know it probably wasn't your ideal ending(and I'm too lazy to correct typos, as usual,) but nothing more needed to be explained, that would have been overkill. Anyways, so there it is Situational Hazard is done. Well….there is that little thing I did…I think it was in the next chapter or something like that….

Thanks for all that read, you guys rock and expect to see more from me in the future.

Alas!


	25. Chapter 25

Heyo everyone I'm doing the redux of Situational Hazard, started 1/26/08! This is going clear through Kakashi's and Naruto's relationship, without Naruto being kidnapped, so more teasing and more fun. Why did I decide to do this? Because I know that a lot of people out there are going to appreciate it. So here goes, from Chapter 10 onward!

* * *

Walking around in pants, even shorts for the whole morning, was one thing. Waltzing around the kitchen in a bloody towel was quite another!

"Geezus, will you put some damn clothes on?!" Naruto bitched the second he stepped foot into the kitchen in search of something to eat. To say he almost lost his appetite at the sight of Kakashi shirtless and towel-clad was an understatement. It was more like he'd almost had a heart attack.

Kakashi had the nerve to eye-smile at him while pouring that disgusting bran cereal he always bought into a bowl, like he really wasn't parading around in a piece of cloth that came just past his bony knees. So much for breakfast.

"Are you eating or not?"

"I was going to, until I walked in on _this_!"

"Sure you aren't waiting for it to fall?"

Naruto gaped. W-wha-what the-- He was NOT waiting for it to fall! How dare that dirty-minded fiend say something like that?!

"You wish jackass!" Really, he had some nerve implying that Naruto wanted to know if he really wasn't wearing underwear unde-- wait NO! No, he did NOT want to know that, dear god not at all! Kakashi was messing with his head, that had to be it. Right. Of

course.

"Well then I guess you aren't ready." Kakashi took his bowl to the table and went back to the sink, closer to Naruto, glanced at him and grabbed a spoon.

"What are you talking about? Ready for what?"

"Oh how easily we forget." He replied mysteriously and sat down, and NO Naruto did NOT think about the way the light blue cotton gently inched up and past Kakashi's knee. He didn't think that, because he wasn't a pervert.

"Whatever, sensei. When I find my appetite, I'll come back, and you'd better have some clothes on or I'll--

"You'll what? Dress me yourself? You'd have to take my towel off first."

"Argh, go to hell you perv!" Naruto wished he had a kunai on him, he would have cut out Kakashi's voicebox. He glared hard at the man, wondering when the hell he was going to eat that cereal when Kakashi looked up from his bowl and with nary a smile, serious as a heart attack said,

"You sound like an angry wife. I don't envy the person you marry. I mean look what you put me through."

What?! What did Kakashi just call him?! And did he imply that Naruto was girly? Who was he kidding, a girl would be lucky to have him!

"Just because nobody wants to marry your weird ass! Who the heck would want to be your wife?!"

"I have a wife already, who cooks and cleans for me and bitches at me about wearing a robe in the kitchen. That's what wives do, they bitch and slave."

Oh that son of bitch! "You're not talking about me. I know you're not. Because I wouldn't marry you on your life and who the fuck slaves around here?! I cook and clean out of gratitude for you letting me stay here that's the only reason I bother!"

"Of course." Kakashi said, twirling the spoon skillfully. "Wives sometimes are dependant on their masters and it's their duty to appease them. So in light of that, you should probably wash this bowl when I'm done before you start eating, I wouldn't want your chores to pile up."

Naruto lividly gaped. He was going to kick Kakashi's ass! He was nodamnbody's slave and Kakashi sure as fuck wasn't his master! He had to admit, it was an angering comeback from last night's argument but he wasn't going to lose no matter what. If Kakashi wanted to play dirty then he was up to the challenge always! Kakashi wasn't ready!

"You're more like the family dog than a husband! I'd rather die than be your slave! Wash you own damn dishes and if you don't like that shit, then file for divorce!" With that Naruto stormed out of the kitchen and back to his room, slamming the door as hard as he dared. He could hear Kakashi out there laughing and it made him throw a shoe at the door for good measure.

He was pissed. Kakashi was just _asking _to be punched in the eye! Just when he thought he had the man with last night's victory, he had to come out and say something like that! His wife! Ha! Who was that baka no hentai kidding? If it was dirty he wanted it was dirty he was going to get! Nobody messed with Uzumaki Naruto and got away with it. He would show Kakashi that when it came to insults and perverted teasing he was the new King of Inappropriateness.

"Yes, I'll show that perv how good a wife I can be….heheheh…."

If Kakashi paid attention to the strangely vengeful aura coming from Naruto's room, he might have been inclined to be afraid or at least wary, but he only shrugged it off and went about his usual morning routine, getting dressed to go to the memorial stone before he met Team Seven. He smirked passing Naruto's room, listening to the boy move around, wondering just how much his 'wife' comment was getting to him. Yesterday had been only a temporary victory for Naruto. Kakashi was still the King, and no little brat was going to best him.

He still had a few hours to kill before he met with his team at the bridge. They would never know it wasn't he who was late, but they who were early. Kakashi knew missions were important and so he set aside some time for himself to do his usual morning routine while his student patiently waited for him. It wouldn't do if _they _were late, now would it?

Before he could zip up his vest and disappear in a cloud of smoke, Naruto burst out of his room and jumped him, latching onto his arm with scary eagerness.

"Where are you going 'honey'? You can't leave me behind!" Kakashi tried to shake him off, but the boy held fast.

"Naruto let me go before I make you."

"Nu-uh, Hubby-kun! As your wife, I get to bitch about how late you always are, and as your wife, I have a right to know why."

Kakashi shook his arm, still attempting to get the brat off but to no avail. So, the little loudmouth was taking his insult at face value, eh?

"Now you want to be my wife? What changed your mind? Was it my ruggedly handsome good looks? Or have you finally learned you place?"

Naruto grit his teeth before remembering that he was supposed to play along. "Neither! As for being ruggedly handsome, only you can attest to that!"

Surely he was right, Kakashi mused. And that was the way it was going to stay.

"You're going to be early today sensei, I'm not letting you go until we get to the bridge." Naruto was determined to get him to be on time that morning. As his new wife, Naruto was definitely going to have fun making his life hell.

Kakashi however, wasn't called a genius for nothing. "You want everyone to see you hanging off of my arm like my boyfriend or something?" Naruto let go fast.

"N-no! What are you talking about?!"

"Then I'll be going. See you in a few hours," the Jounin waved.

"Arrghhh!!" Naruto wanted to scream. Kakashi just puffed away to wherever it was he went when he wasn't where he was supposed to be, leaving the blonde angry and thwarted. Damnit! He was so close to doing the impossible! One of those days he was going to solve all of Kakashi Hatake's mysteries. He was going to find out why he was always so late, why he was such a perv, and see what in the bloody hell was under that mask!

If Kakashi thought he could escape the wrath of the future Hokage he was in for a loud, blonde awakening.

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone but wasn't sure what he wanted to say. Usually he talked about how crappy his ongoing life was, but with his new houseguest, he hadn't any depressing news to tell. Sometimes he would tell them about his and Naruto's relationship but he had to be careful what he said with Yondaime listening. One never knew what an angry former Hokage was capable of even when dead, so he kept certain details about their living arrangements to himself. Minato was vengeful, and only he knew this to be true and definitely didn't want any of that vengefulness directed at him.

"He's angry with me again. But I guess that's part of the fun."

Kakashi remembered that when he was young he would make people he wanted to test for loyalty angry on purpose just to see if they would hurt him or leave him like his father had. Over time it had become more of a hobby than a test and he secretly liked to see people angry because for some sick reason it amused him more than anything else. Minato-sensei had told him that doing things like that was likely to get him smacked. Kakashi was never smacked but Minato had a way with pranks and this never escaped the silver-haired boy's knowledge. His sensei had made his pranks so good that not even a Chuunin of Kakashi's rank could help being caught up in one and this managed to only deepen his attraction to passionate people. Obito Uchiha was exceptionally fun to harass, as his face always went from pale to red in an amusing amount of time and he had the most foul mouth Kakashi had ever heard. It came to the point where Kakashi didn't even have to say anything to piss the dark-haired boy off. Rin was just like the typical Konoha kunoichi. Always angry or overly sensitive to stupid little things like boys and the way they looked. Kakashi thought she looked fine and while he didn't exactly go out of his way to let her know, he liked to think the hints were subtle enough. It was obvious she had a crush on him. Well she was beautiful and all but she wasn't someone Kakashi had ever taken seriously. He wasn't sure if given the chance if he ever would. Obito liked her more than well enough and Kakashi thought she should have being paying attention to someone who really liked her rather than him, who only complimented her every once in a while because he thought she was pretty and nothing else.

"If he becomes the Hokage he'll be so much like you it'll be freaky, Minato-sensei."

He wasn't going to divulge what happened that morning in the house or that he had made his sensei's son his 'wife' as part of a practical joke to piss the younger blonde off further, but he had to kill the hours some way, so he decided he would talk about any silly little thing that crossed his mind and hope for the time to fly by. He found that he had been spending less and less time at the memorial stone with his friends and sensei since Naruto had come to live with him, some would say that was a good thing, but Kakashi wasn't so sure. He could count on one hand how many times someone had told him to leave the past in the past, or to 'let go' but if he did that then he would be left with nothing. Naruto meant something to him, but the boy didn't understand what it was like to feel important. Iruka showed him as much as he could, even so, Iruka would have more than likely been the sole person in the Naruto's life that ever showed him that he was cared for, nothing to compare anything to. Kakashi had never shown Naruto that he was important to him, and he didn't know if he could.

For as long as he could remember, he had been the aloof child prodigy who cared for nothing and no one after his father died. By the time he wanted to change something, it was already too late. Then he reverted back to what he was before and shunned anyone that even showed an inkling of feeling for him, not wanting to visit any more people in the mornings than he had to. Naruto was different. Naruto never gave up and he just was so much like Yondaime that Kakashi found himself unable to resist certain charms the blonde teen had unknowingly exuded. Naruto was, in many ways, more like him than Sasuke ever was. He chose Sasuke to train for the Chuunin exams because Sasuke was safe. Sasuke didn't care. Sasuke barely felt emotion. Naruto was clingy, hopeful, and very easy to get used to. Kakashi didn't like it. At first. There were times when Naruto's strong demeanor had failed him and times when he looked like Kakashi had felt. Kakashi would find himself drawn to the boy's despair, as if it somehow connected them.

Just like that, Naruto became his favorite student. Sasuke was a brat, Sakura was annoying, but Naruto was utterly fake and genuine at the same time, very much like himself. He would smile when there was nothing to smile about and the smile never reached his eyes, or show his emotions stronger than people usually would for little things like a kid being teased. Naruto knew all to well what it was like to have nothing, like Kakashi. Even though their reasons were entirely different, the feelings were the same. Teasing Naruto was fun. When Naruto was around him, he didn't have to laugh if he didn't want to, he didn't have to worry about someone teasing him if he got too angry. The least he had to worry about was giving Kakashi something to tease him about. Kakashi would never tease him for feeling. Like Sasuke and Sakura did. He was no Iruka Umino, but he cared about Naruto and what he thought, even when he went out of his way to hide it. There was one time several months ago that he had been watching Naruto struggle to perfect the jutsu that would save Sasuke from Orochimaru and Naruto had been so passionate and so determined and had been doing so well, that Kakashi had let it slip.

_"I really like you now."_ To say the least, Naruto had freaked. Kakashi hadn't meant it that way, but apparently Naruto wasn't used to being liked and it showed. At first it seemed as if Naruto was truly surprised, then, as if to cover it up, he cussed Kakashi out and called him a weirdo. Kakashi never said anything like that again. Though he was curious. What would Naruto say if he said it while they were in the kitchen together? Would he freak out again? Not that Kakashi intended to find out.

"Well, I think I'm going to go and bother Iruka. Right now he should be headed for his classes at the Academy. He hates when I pop up and bother him about having a crush on Anko. See you later Obito, sensei, Rin."

* * *

If Kakashi was going to be late then Naruto didn't see the need to hurry to the bridge that morning. He would show up when Kakashi did and no earlier if he could help it. Now that he was awake, he would be bored for a few hours, but it was nothing some warm up exercises couldn't cure. He would get to vent his frustrations out on a tree or something.

Of course, the object of his frustrations was out being mysterious someplace. Seriously, what in the world did he do in the mornings? Did he read? Did he sleep? Did he go to see his girlfriend?

"Yeah I'll bet that's what it is. His girlfriend. Wonder who would be insane enough to date him?"

Well there was Mitarashi Anko.

"Nevermind," Naruto shuddered at the thought. Anko was freaky and probably in more ways than one. Kakashi was weird too, they would make a disturbingly perfect pair.

Naruto kicked the tree harder than he intended to and knocked the poor thing down. He screeched and looked around hastily, hoping nobody saw him fell the innocent tree and came after him. People would find any reason to hurt him, even over a stupid piece of wood. He didn't mean to kick it in half, but….. he didn't know, something about the thought of weird-ass Anko getting her dango grubbing hands on the great Kakashi Hatake just seemed….unfair.

'_Why?'_

'_Man, what does Anko know? She had the thing with Orochimaru and she's a bitch. Just the kind of wife Kakashi deserves! I don't care if they are together. So what? It's not like he's going to bring her home.'_

Suddenly he was on top of the tree, slamming his fists into the bark like it did him some kind of wrong. Kakashi wouldn't dare bring that heifer home! If she were there, then Kakashi wouldn't pay him any attention!

No! Naruto would be damned if he was going to let her ruin what he and Kakashi had. He liked when Kakashi teased him in the mornings or made him slave over their meals and do laundry on Thursdays. If Anko came and took up all his time…dear Kami, Kakashi--Kakashi might not even want him around! He couldn't, wouldn't, let that happen!

Even if it wasn't Anko, it might have been someone else, anyone could take Kakashi away from him. He meant nothing to Kakashi. If his sensei found someone that amused him more, Naruto wouldn't even serve as a second thought in his head. A cloud of familiar despair blanketed him like a smokescreen. Kakashi would leave him without a second thought and there was probably nothing he could do to stop it. From what he understood, his fate had been decided for him before he could even speak. There would always be a part of him that drove people away. Neji Hyuuga might not have been talking bullshit after all. There were certain things about a person that they couldn't change. Naruto could modify and maybe even change everything about him, but Kyuubi would always be there as the reminder he despised that he would never be happy. Kakashi was his sensei, and that didn't mean all that much in the long run. Kakashi would leave him one day. Naruto wasn't sure why he never thought about what would happen when he finally got enough money to move out and back on his own. He wasn't even sure he wanted to be back on his own.

If he moved out, would Kakashi go back to treating him like an unwanted guest on his own team? Would Kakashi one day suddenly not want him around? Then what would he do?

When in doubt, be direct.

He was going to ask Kakashi about these things. Because nobody liked unpleasant surprises.

* * *

Sasuke was getting pissed. If Sakura didn't stop giving him that sad ass look he was going to fireball jutsu her ass to hell. Where the hell was Naruto when he needed him?

"Don't you ever shut up?!" He was trying to be calm, he tried to ignore her, really he did, but she started to whine and he just snapped. She looked at him like he had just hit her with the brick of bad news and blinked.

Sakura either must have been immune to his rejection or plain stupid. She simply blinked and said, "Well, if I shut up you wouldn't find out what happened next."

'_What the hell?' _Sasuke wondered if someone had taken her out to the forest and kicked the shit out of her or something. He failed to see the significance in talking to her at all.

Sakura on the other hand was so nervous without Naruto around that she couldn't stop talking. She knew Sasuke didn't like her, and she knew how annoying she was to him, as he liked to occasionally remind her, but really thought that if she tried hard enough, that Sasuke would show her that much more than his vengeful attitude had changed, so imagine her despair when she found that nothing had in fact changed. Sasuke Uchiha was still, and most likely always would be, a cold-hearted bastard. For her sake and not for his, she would shut up. He didn't need to know what happened next. Anyway, she was sure the significance of the conversation flew right over his head.

"Where do you think Naruto is? It's not like him to be late." She said more to herself than to him, nevermind the reference to him. He grunted, which could have meant anything from 'he's at home sleeping, what do you think?' to 'fuck if I know, fuck if I care'.

She didn't know why they always had to do that. Stand and wait on the bridge for lazy ass Kakashi for hours on end just to stand around and make conversation with people they disliked. She disliked Naruto, Naruto disliked Sasuke, Sasuke disliked Naruto and Sasuke disliked her. It was like a fight waiting to happen. Everyday.

_'I hope he hurries.'_ Sasuke was giving her this dirty look and she didn't like it.

* * *

When Naruto finally brought his ass to the bridge, both of his teammates looked like they wanted to shish kabob his balls.

"What's up Sakura-chan, Sasuke."

Sasuke's face went from mildly annoyed to curiously worried immediately. "What's wrong with you?"

Naruto pretended to look appalled. "Me? Nothing. Can't a guy be late once in a while?"

"NO!" Sakura yelled and aimed one of her deadly strong punches at his head but Naruto did something he had never done before. He dodged.

Sasuke thought something went wrong with the world when he saw Naruto calmly and effortlessly dodge her punch like it was water. Naruto usually took her punches head on, and for him not to call Sasuke by his 'nickname' meant something wasn't right.

Sakura was awed for a moment. "Eh?! Naruto what the heck was that?!"

"What the heck was what? I didn't feel like being hit this morning. Can't a guy not want a bleeding lump on his head?"

"First you're late, then you don't greet me the way you normally do, then you dodge Sakura's punch. You never do those things. I know you only don't call me teme when you're depressed or something like that. So what's the deal?" That was probably the most Sasuke had said all month.

"Psh," Naruto scoffed. "Like you care. Nothing is wrong with me. Maybe something is wrong with you, ever think of that?"

Sasuke twitched. "Forget it, dobe. Nobody cares if you're on your period."

"His what?!" Sakura cried, looking over at Naruto like he really was on his period.

Sasuke just shook his head and sighed. How in the world did someone as annoying and stupid as Sakura ever become a ninja? Naruto was annoying, but at least he was powerful and fun to get angry. Sakura was drab and bothersome. Did she do that on purpose or was she really that dense?

Naruto kind of looked at her like she said the sky was green too. Seriously, boys didn't get periods. Where was _she_ during 'the talk'?

"Yo." Kakashi greeted, popping out thin air.

Whether because it was a particularly stressing morning or because his team missed him, all three of them glared at him, pointed, and shouted, "It's about time!"

He tried to look as surprised as he could for being a guy with a mask and put his hands up to defend himself. "See what had happened was--

"Stow it sensei! Let's just start the mission already!" Naruto snapped, because only Naruto would say such a thing.

"Alright. Well, our mission is simple and I don't want anyone to--

"Yeah yeah yeah, hurry up!" Naruto impatiently yelled. Bad enough the asshole was late, now he was stalling.

"Calm down, dobe, the mission isn't going to disappear when we aren't looking." Sasuke was a tad impatient, but he didn't have to worry about anyone knowing, for he always looked impatient, like he wanted the world to just hurry up and end.

Naruto flipped him off casually.

"As I was saying," Kakashi continued, "The mission is a bit more difficult than you're all used to. We are to escort a Feudal Lord to the border of a country she is visiting. Like I'm sure you all know, most lords have assassination bounties out on them and things like that We don't know who are enemies are or if they will show up so that makes this mission an A-ra--

"YES!!" Naruto jumped up and down like he had heard the best piece of news in the whole wide world. An A-ranked mission! Sweet! This was going to be his third A-ranked, he was going to kick ass out there! And A-ranks meant big yen, especially from Feudal Lords!

Kakashi smothered his sigh in his hand. Only Naruto would be happy that they were going to risk their very lives for someone they didn't know.

They hopped off into the trees and took off for the Rice Country.

* * *

Naruto hadn't been counting on going back to Konoha unconscious in the arms of Kakashi, but oh well, they got their mission accomplished. Stupid Cloud ninja and their ridiculous jutsu.

He had to spend some time in the hospital with Kakashi and Sakura while Sasuke limped home saying that he could take care of himself. But that was okay, he did kick ass, just like he said he would, it didn't matter that he got his ass handed to him as well, he thought he rocked out there!

When he and Kakashi got home the first thing Naruto saw was the dishes piled in the sink and hoped, for Kakashi's sake, that Kakashi would keep his trap shut about it. There was no way in the world he was doing any dishes. He was going to meditate and then run down to Ichiraku's for some ramen. The made a lot of money for their mission, and by a lot I mean, like thousands of yen to split between them. It kind of scared Naruto to be receiving so much money for two reasons. One, he knew it would be gone faster than he could appreciate it, and two he knew he had enough money to get another rundown apartment.

Now was the perfect time to ask Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Huh?" Kakashi replied stupidly. He was staring at Naruto, who was looking at the ground like it did something to disturb him. He wondered what was wrong.

"I-I have…."

"You have what, Naruto?"

"I mean….this mission…I've got enough money to move out…but…"

Kakashi got it then. Naruto didn't want to leave. "Na—

"I mean, I could go, and you could have your privacy back. Thanks for everything. I really did like staying here with you and I w--

"You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Naruto's eyes were getting watery so he didn't look up right away. "Really? I can stay? Even if I have money to move out on my own now?"

The Jounin smiled though Naruto couldn't see it and walked to the doorway of the kitchen. "Stay as long as you want. But now that you've got all that extra money, you could always run down to the market and get some groceries."

Naruto was instantly furious. "Argh! You Asshole!" He barked. Kakashi laughed and went to his room, glad that Naruto wasn't so depressed anymore about it.

So he wanted to stay with him? Did that mean that Naruto liked him in some way? Maybe he….cared about him? Maybe Kakashi was important to him?

'_Maybe.' _He mused. Anyway he was just happy that Naruto liked it there. If anything, the teasing would only get more satisfying from then on.

* * *

Kakashi said yes! Holy shit! Naruto wanted to scream and run around like a madman he was so ecstatic. He lived with Kakashi now! For real! He wasn't a houseguest anymore, he was a real roommate!

He couldn't jump through the roof like he wanted to, so he settled for a silent little jig instead. He was disgustingly happy right then, so happy he could kiss Kakashi!

…………..

Or not. That would be…..that wouldn't happen. Not that he would kiss Kakashi--better yet, not that Kakashi would allow Naruto to kiss him. Well, if Kakashi allowed it, then perhaps his happiness might sustain long enough to do it. But he didn't want to kiss Kakashi that bad. Even thought he MAY have been curious about that. Had Kakashi ever kissed anyone? He always wore that mask, did that mean nothing but food had ever touched his lips? Hmmm….that was something to ponder about.

More importantly did Kakashi have a girlfriend? Maybe not, he did allow Naruto to stay with him. Maybe he was lonely? Maybe he liked Naruto's company? Maybe he liked…Naruto? Maybe he cared for him?

He shrugged. Who knew? Kakashi liked teasing. For all he knew he was nothing more than a game for the Jounin to play when he was bored, which he looked a great deal of the time. Either way, living with him meant a lot to Naruto. He had never lived with anyone that liked him before. Of course he would have to deal with the 'wife' bullshit and the slave-driving, but that was what made things interesting, no matter how infuriating it actually was. It would have been a different story if Naruto were a girl. Then marrying Kakashi might have been on his list of things to do, but he was a boy and he was fairly certain that his sensei was straight, even with all of the crude jokes that seemed to defy sexuality, Kakashi surely liked women. He must have. Nobody that hot liked guys. Kakashi was strictly straight. Right?

Of course he was! And so what if he did happen to fancy guys, it wasn't like he would take a second glance at Naruto. Naruto was like a million years younger than him and wasn't very attractive at all. Even Sasuke would have a better chance, and in Naruto's opinion, he wasn't that great either.

Oh well, that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that Kakashi wanted him to stay. That meant he wasn't terrible company.

All Naruto could hope to do was keep entertaining him, or keep doing whatever it was he was doing to make Kakashi like him. He wondered how much longer the games and teasing between them would be amusing. Would Kakashi always enjoy teasing him and bothering him? Would Kakashi get bored of him?

Naruto knew he had a problem with believing anything that sounded too good to be true, but the way he grew up, most things were. Nobody ever stuck around long enough to make much of a dent in this belief he had. Iruka wasn't always around, despite that people thought he clung to the Chuunin. Iruka was good, but was shared by too many. He was 'Iruka-sensei' to too many kids, and to Naruto that wasn't fair. If he never had anything for himself, he always had to share or go with nothing at all. That was just the way things had always been.

The best thing to do was to prepare himself for the worst and enjoy it while he could.

On that note, it was time to go to the grocery. Hey, he had to keep Kakashi happy.

When Naruto got back from the market, Kakashi was sprawled out on a couch in the den that wasn't there before, sleeping. Naruto carefully put the things away and tiptoed into the den. The closer he got the more his face fell until he was staring at the sleeping man sadly. Kakashi, even with his mask, looked so peaceful while he slept. It made Naruto sad to think that he would always be on the outside looking in.

He stood there and stared at Kakashi for a long time, noting little things about him that he hadn't noticed before. The way Kakashi never zipped his vest up when he was relaxed at home. The way he lay sprawled out indicated that he most likely wasn't used to sleeping next to someone. The way he pulled his hitae-ate down to cover most of his right eye to block out the light for a peaceful sleep. The way he could sleep so peacefully and trust Naruto not to yank down his mask while he dozed on. These little things made Naruto wish he could touch him, but he knew that if he tried he was just begging to be stabbed with a kunai.

He sighed softly and went back into the kitchen to make some tempura noodles--the right way--and sushi with bread rolls and sliced fruits and vegetables, which Kakashi liked. The sad look never left his face as he bustled around the kitchen to make he and his 'hubby' something to eat. While he waited for the noodles to boil he washed the dishes in the sink and dried them slowly, thinking about how an hour ago he would have argued with Kakashi until the end of the night to get out of doing them. It was a small price to pay to live with someone, even out of generosity.

He was glad he was going to be staying with Kakashi for a while longer, but as happy as that made him, it also made him sad. He and Kakashi weren't really what anyone would call friends. Kakashi treated him like a circumstantial prop on his team when they weren't inside of the house. Even when they were home, if Kakashi ever spoke to him, it was only to make him angry or embarrassed. Why did Kakashi agree to let him stay? It wasn't like there were any investments to protect.

In a cloud of depressing thoughts, Naruto had unknowingly put his head down on the table and wrapped his arms around them, so that when Kakashi silently stalked into the kitchen, it looked like he was crying.

"Is something bothering you?"

Naruto's head didn't snap up in surprise like it normally would have at the Jounin's presence. He reluctantly raised his head and gave a minute glance at Kakashi before he stood to go check on the noodles. "No. I was just thinking." He silently stirred the strings of noodles in the pot and watched disinterestedly as the bubbles of boiling water popped and blew up.

Kakashi stared at him but said nothing. That didn't mean he didn't want to know.

"I'm making tempura noodles and eel sushi with rice and bread rolls and all that other healthy stuff. The rice was a last minute thing." It wasn't like he had anything better to do with his time than cook rice.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what were you thinking about?"

Naruto wasn't the idiot everyone thought he was. With a big smile he replied in a loud voice, "Ramen!" It beat telling Kakashi was really wrong, as if anything would come of that.

"Why didn't you just buy ramen if you wanted it so bad?" Kakashi wasn't really interested in his lie, still he wanted to see how far Naruto would take it.

"I forgot."

"Really?" Kakashi asked dryly.

"Yeah, is it a crime to forget things every once in a while?"

"For you to forget ramen, it may as well be." Kakashi answered smoothly, like he wasn't interrogating the boy. Of course not, he was merely inquiring about his lie.

"Well, it happened. Anyway, had a nice sleep?"

Kakashi shrugged and sat down. _'Had a nice time watching me sleep?' _"Sleep is necessary to sustain consciousness and energy and rational thought. Nothing nice about it." He was lying. He was tired from not being able to sleep in the hospital because people kept trying to see his face and ask him out. It sounded cliché, but it wasn't like it didn't happen. The nap was refreshing. He would have slept longer, but he didn't enjoy hospitals and would never admit it to Naruto, but he was starving and would wolf down whatever things he cooked.

Naruto grunted and sliced the eel and rolled the sushi. Kakashi was going to be surprised how everything had turned out. He had been stopping by Akane-baasan's house for cooking lessons. The old woman was perceptive in her own right. Without him having to tell her, she knew why he wanted the lessons and asked how Kakashi was fairing without her cooking. Naruto jokingly replied that he just managed to scrape by, and almost never heard the end of it. At least he had learned something through the tirade she gave him.

"I'm glad my wife isn't bitching today. A nice hot meal should always be ready when I'm hungry." Who said dinner had to be awkward and dull?

"Stop being a chauvinistic dick before I throw this boiling hot water in your face." Naruto said with and unamused glare.

"Honey, that's no way to speak to your master."

"Oh I see. I'm not good enough to have a husband. Well you're not good enough to be one!"

"Oh honey, don't be like that."

Naruto cringed. Shaking hands struggled not to throw the entire pot of scathing tempura at Kakashi, he painstakingly served their dinner and managed not to throttle the Jounin somewhere along the line.

He sat down in a chair adjacent to Kakashi with a grumpy mutter. One of those days, Kakashi was going to meet with an embarrassing insult that would shut his trap for a good while. If he kept pushing, that day would arrive much sooner.

"I hope you like it, 'honey'." He drawled with fake hopefulness. He knew Kakashi would like it, and if he didn't, then he could go screw himself. He blew on the noodles and slurped it up slowly so as not to burn himself.

"I'm sure my wife does _all_ he can to satisfy me."

Not only did he end up burning himself, biting his tongue and spitting the food out, he also somehow managed to get strand of tempura down his throat and choked on it. Kakashi stared boredly at him and asked calmly if something was wrong. Naruto looked at him like he was crazy, coughing and sputtering obscenities whenever he could catch a breath.

"You—cough—bastard--choke--I'm going to--ack--castrate you--cough!"

"You don't sound nearly as intimidating while you're choking." Kakashi observed.

When Naruto had stopped dying and cleared his throat, he had already thought up a mouthful of things to say. "What kind of shit was that?! Who said anything about satisfying you, I was doing it do be nice!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Whatever you want to call it."

"I call it jumping over this table and digging your eye out with this fork!"

"Now that's not very nice."

"I'm not trying to be nice!" Naruto stabbed at a defenseless roll of sushi with his fork turned weapon with a vehemence that would have made Gaara raise an eyebrow. If he had one.

"I know it's raw, but it is dead."

"Shut up before you join it!"

Kakashi smiled genially. No missions for the rest of the week. Fun was to be had and maybe he would get Naruto to blush more. He liked the way the boy's tanned whiskered cheeks lit up like a forest fire on his face when he was flustered, he was very much like Iruka when he did that. Minato had been impossible to fluster. But Naruto certainly was a site when he was pissed. His eyes had the most color when he was emotional or angry, and his hair seemed to bounce around more. Or maybe that was just Kakashi.

Naruto seemed to have gotten over his rage very quickly when he saw where he was and what they were doing. Kakashi hadn't got up. Did that mean--

Kakashi saw the look. And he had already planned ahead. Standing up and reached behind him and walked behind Naruto, leaning close to the back of the teen's chair and pulling out what he had behind his back. Naruto hoped against hope Kakashi missed the shudder that went through him at the contact.

"I trust you won't attempt to remove this while I'm eating. If you do then not only will I beat you into next year, I'll embarrass you in the worst way possible. You'll think Icha Icha was a slap on the hand. I'm serious." Then he tied the blindfold around the blonde's head and tightly secured it around his eyes. Naruto hissed a curse. "Fuck!" He thought he had Kakashi then. He should have known better.

Kakashi sat back down and dug into his food, this time taking his sweet precious time eating it, without wolfing it down like he always had to to make sure nobody saw him. He couldn't blindfold all of Konoha but his control of that situation was best asserted at home.

Naruto made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. "What's wrong, those ruggedly handsome good looks not as rugged or handsome as you thought?" He implied innocently, trying his best to methodically work his way to a second victory in a row.

"Seeing me without clothes on makes up for that."

Naruto was very proud of himself for not slurping a noodle up through his nose at that. "Unless those nine-and-a-half inches aren't exactly accurate it doesn't." If anyone asked, that came out of his mouth without his consent. So much for another victory.

"Would you like to find out?" Kakashi offered with false hopefulness, smiling with an expressive show of teeth that Naruto couldn't see. Naruto promptly went rigid and dropped his fork, the metal clanging loudly against the bowl.

"No….no I don't want to see your penis Kakashi." He stiffly ground out.

'Of course I do, who doesn't?!'

But Kakashi didn't have to know that. Ever.

"Fine, suit yourself, I was just protecting the value of my assets."

"Whatever." The blonde uttered into his soup. Kakashi was just shameless was what he was. Try as he might, Naruto just found it hard to compete with a pervert of Kakashi's caliber, it was like everything the man said made him turn nearly purple with mortification. But in the forefront of his mind he knew that if Kakashi no longer found him amusing, he wouldn't like him anymore. So Naruto did the only thing he could do to make Kakashi's night. He said with as much sauciness as he could muster, "Save it for the honeymoon, Hubby-kun."

It was Kakashi's turn to nearly meet his end at the hands of a noodle, not that noodles hand hands mind you, it still would have been indirectly responsible for his demise.

"Something wrong, Hubby-kun?"

Kakashi assured himself that Naruto was trying to be funny and vengeful and that what he said had nothing to do with the fact that _perhaps _he was serious. Still, Kakashi's curious side couldn't help but play on the suggestion.

"When is this honeymoon?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Kakashi's mouth did a strange variation of a sneer and a scowl in an unconsciously dichotomous show of talent. Only Kakashi could pull off that look and manage to still be highly amused. Naruto was awfully bold that night. This delicate process of finding out if Naruto was remotely attracted to him was Kakashi's goal for the week effective now.

"Well you should pick a date before some other lucky person snatches me up." Naruto would never know it, but he was half serious.

To say that Naruto was thankful for the blindfold was a bit of an understatement. He almost instantly felt sad again. Too bad the fork he had in his hand never made it. The poor thing snapped cleanly in half in response to the sudden spike of emotion. It was just a joke, but it hit his nerves with an all too accurate impact.

"What the hell do I care if you find someone, you idiot!" he yelled before he could help himself.

_'You'll only get rid of me. It'll only hurt me worse than anything. Nothing too serious, maybe I'll die a little inside, but you have nothing to worry about. At least you'll be happy.'_

He would be happy with Kakashi. He was happy with him but it hurt because Kakashi didn't know and he couldn't tell him. Nothing hurt more than having the most important person in his life standing in front of him and he couldn't even tell him how he felt. So many things could go wrong. Kakashi could be disgusted, he could be condescending, he could use Naruto's feelings to hurt him like everyone else did. Even despite all of those things, the worst thing Kakashi could possibly do was hate him. Why did he have to go and mess things up like that? Why couldn't he just take the joke for what it was, a simple joke?

Kakashi on the other hand saw that things were taking a desired turn in his favor and decided that if he wanted to keep things amicable between them he would have to try harder not to upset Naruto. The broken fork lying on the table was the best thing that had happened all day.

"Alright, I guess if you don't mind, I'll find someone else to have my honeymoon with."

He expected Naruto to retort with something scathing, he expected him to say something sarcastic, but after a thick, nearly palpable silence, he didn't at all expect for Naruto to quietly, calmly stand up and walk out of the house.

Naruto didn't want to play games anymore. He loitered around Konoha for hours staring at the ground with blank despair. People whispered nasty things and pointed but he couldn't hear them. All he could hear was the sound of his heart breaking.

Why did Kakashi have to say that? Why did he have to crush Naruto's hopes like a crunchy leaf and then throw it to the wind? More importantly, why did Naruto make his pain so obvious, when he knew that nothing would be gained from it but more pain?

He had to go. He didn't know how much longer he could stand waiting for Kakashi to be taken away from him by some sweet pretty girl who probably deserved his affections more than Naruto did. Could Kakashi even be affectionate? Who cares, he thought somberly, I'll never find out.

Nobody thought it was unusual that the bright blonde ball of sunshine looked like a dull, blonde rain cloud as Kiba and Akamaru passed by and waved at Naruto who didn't smile and didn't wave back.

"Hey man how's it goin'?" Kiba loudly announced. Akamaru barked in recognition and they continued on the their happy way. Naruto vindictively hoped they choked on their happiness. At least someone would die happy. He was more than likely going to die sad and depressed and _lonely _and nobody would care. Not even Kakashi.

How was he supposed to compete with a beautiful woman? He wasn't anything special, save for the demon he shared his body with. He didn't have anything particularly striking about him that anyone would care to recognize. He wasn't good looking, and he wasn't smart. What would Kakashi see in him anyway? What was he thinking when he thought he even stood a chance?

Just the thought of it made him want to weep in frustration. Blinking back tears, he angrily sped up his pace and headed straight for the Hokage monuments, where hopefully someone would push his unsuspecting form off and he would fall to a blissful death. Ha, he snorted inwardly, even he wasn't that lucky.

When he reached the monument he climbed to the top and threw himself on the dirty ground, not caring about the pain in his elbows and head. It wasn't like he could hurt anymore than he was hurting then. As he laid there, face down on the ground he wondered how Kakashi reacted when he left.

_'If he reacted at all'_

He probably just shrugged and went back to his meal, or maybe he hadn't even noticed until nobody was there to wash the dishes. It may have only been a minor inconvenience to the man that he had left. Naruto knew it was stupid of him to think otherwise. Kakashi would find some hot little tart to do his dishes and he would go bother Iruka for amusement. He would be doing the things he did before Naruto came to stay with him. Naruto would be lonely and more than occasionally depressed, he would get his own apartment and live by himself again and people would keep on hating him for the things he couldn't help.

Everything would be back to normal.

Naruto couldn't help but feel more than a little jaded. It wasn't new that hope came and went like a passing storm. It was sad, but for him, it would probably always be that way. If the Hokage wasn't so secure about everything, he might be able to leave the village even if only for a little while. But the people of Konoha and its Hokage were a selfish and careful lot. They wouldn't have cared if he left the village had he been anyone else. With Jiraiya it had been safe, but nobody wanted a _stupid _demon brat on the loose. Control had to be maintained, and that meant he couldn't go anywhere.

He curled up on his knees and buried his head between his arms.

He figured he better get used to the idea of being lonely and fucked up for the rest of his life. Nobody wanted him and that was they way it was. Kakashi would move on in a heartbeat and Iruka would one day find someone for himself and Naruto would be left with even less than nothing. It was just the kind of life he'd always envisioned for himself until he moved in with Kakashi. Then there had been…something. At first he wasn't sure what that something was, but he had heard stories about it. People said it was a fluttery, happy, warm something. Kakashi made him feel all three of those things and more. Maybe they were just stories, but Naruto knew that there was a distinct difference in the way he always felt and the way Kakashi made him feel. It was definitely something.

And now it was nothing. His best bet was to suck it up and move on. He had his money and he would pick his things up from Kakashi's house, if the bastard hadn't already put them outside, when Kakashi was out.

A shadow loomed over him like and umbrella in the sun and he looked up, ready to give whoever it was a generous piece of his mind because right then he was feeling very charitable at the moment. Whatever he had intended to say died in his throat upon seeing a tall, lanky, silvered Jounin taking a seat next to him without a word.

Naruto tried not to look shocked but he was and the look on his face wasn't helping. "W-why are you here, Kakashi-sensei?"

He didn't answer for a long time, but Naruto didn't mind, because he was actually hoping Kakashi would realize that he was wasting his time and leave. "I believe I'm here to cheer you up."

"What makes you think I need cheering up?" It was a valiant effort but Kakashi wasn't going away.

"You stopped acting like yourself about an hour and a half ago." Kakashi stated matter of factly.

Oh goody, Kakashi came to tell him that he wasn't being good entertainment. What was he going to do next, threaten to kick him out? Unfortunately for him, Naruto was way ahead of him.

"Please leave me alone," he whimpered miserably. He hadn't even meant to sound so dejected.

He knew Kakashi was watching him and vaguely wondered if the man was amused by what he saw.

"So I take it that means you don't want to talk."

That was _exactly _what it meant.

Kakashi still had yet to take a hike.

"Then I guess I'll do the talking."

'But I don't want to hear what I already know you're going to say'

"What I said in the kitchen…"

'No'

"Did that make you upset?"

Naruto feigned ignorance. "I don't remember what you said."

'I don't want to'

Kakashi wasn't sure how he was going to go about it without assuming anything that would infuriate the blonde. If he was wrong, then he would have one very pissed off fox vessel on his hands and _nobody _wanted that.

"Well I said something and you left, I thought it was something I said."

"Whatever it was, it was a joke. I fail to see why you would think a joke could offend me." Naruto toned stoically, a voice that sounded too much like someone else for it not to be obvious that something was wrong.

Kakashi was going to dance around a bit more with it, hoping that maybe he could cause another reaction and confirm what he hoped was true. Obviously something he said was affecting the boy, and from the looks of Naruto's fetal, curled position on his knees, it wasn't the humorous affect he had intended for it to have.

"When are you coming back?" Naruto stiffened visibly. Kakashi had an unpleasant feeling about it.

Naruto's mouth felt dry. He didn't know why it was so hard to just say it. He was moving out. Kakashi didn't care, so why did his tongue feel like a dry stone?

"I decided I was just going to get my own place. I thought about it, and I figured that I didn't want to be in your way or…something like that," he finished tiredly. He didn't know why he felt the need to explain.

' _I don't want to ruin any chances you might have of getting lucky.'_

"Something like what?"

Why was Kakashi being so inquisitive? Was it to rub it in his face? Pour salt on the wounds?

"I thought I asked you to leave me alone." If he were as nonchalant as Kakashi were, when Kakashi finally left, it wouldn't hurt so much.

"And I thought I ignored you."

Naruto bristled on the inside but kept quiet. When the Jounin realized that Naruto wasn't playing games anymore, he would give up and go away. And leave him all alone. That was what was supposed to happen.

"As I was saying. Why are you leaving? I thought you were fairly content with staying with me, what changed your mind?"

'_Can't stand me? A lot of people find me hard to stomach, Naruto'_

Things were not progressing the way he would have liked. At all. Naruto didn't look at him nor did he move from the pathetic position he was in.

"It's nothing, okay?!" Naruto snapped, wishing there was a hole he could crawl into and disappear. He could almost feel Kakashi not believing him. It was blaringly obvious that it was something, and Kakashi was not leaving without an answer.

"I'd like it if you stayed."

'And I'd like it if you left me alone' Naruto was torn. Biting sarcasm or the cold shoulder? He couldn't hurt Kakashi. Not him. He didn't mean anything to Kakashi to be able to hurt him. All Kakashi saw him as was a walking, perverse form of verbal entertainment. He had some nerve making Naruto feel the way he did.

Kakashi figured now was the best time to try it again. "I really like you now."

Naruto didn't freak out. He didn't gasp, or get angry. He stared. Kakashi didn't know what that meant.

"Yeah I know." Naruto finally said. "I amuse you, it makes sense you'd like me." He stomped on the 'for that' that wanted to be a part of the sentence.

"Yes, well, but you have to give me some credit, I do care about you a great deal. That's why I'm here and won't go away. A shinobi who breaks the rules is trash, but a shinobi who leaves his friends behind is worse trash."

"You left me during the Chunnin Exams, funny how you suddenly care now." Naruto knew it was a low blow, but his pride could withstand the ramifications if it had to. He'd experienced damage to far more crushing degrees before.

Okay so maybe that was the wrong quote to use at the moment, but Kakashi duly noted the hurt in his voice. Naruto's mask was so much better than his and it drove most people up the proverbial wall of endless annoyance and for him to make the pain he felt so obvious meant a lot. It meant that he was closer to figuring out why Naruto wanted to leave him.

Naruto opened up a little and Kakashi figured that if they were going to be talking about caring then he might as well let it go. "Sasuke was…" He found himself censoring his earlier thoughts, "less likely to be clingy. I want to say that he and I really did have more in common, but I'm getting old and I don't think that excuse is valid right now."

Finally he had Naruto's attention and finally the younger ninja unfolded from that sad position and sat up. Finally he looked like he was listening.

"At that time I didn't want to train anyone who could possibly start to care too much for me, or I would care to much for. Despite your lack of couth and rational intelligence, you were too easy to like. I know more about you than most people do, even Iruka-sensei, and I still manage to find a way to see the good traits you have. I didn't like it, so I shrugged you off and chose Sasuke because he doesn't give a shit about anything but revenge and he was convenient at the time, I must say."

Naruto brutally maimed the hope swelling in his chest lest he get too ahead of himself and ensure certain emotional pain due to rejection of some sort, in some fashion. Kakashi was watching the sun set in the distance and from where he sat he couldn't see even a patch of skin but he knew the older man had a look in his eye most people had probably never seen before. He silently waited for Kakashi to continue, swallowing down the urge to say anything because he could feel the emotion in his throat cracking and he knew that if he misinterpreted what the Jounin was trying to say that his voice would come out very _wrong. _

"I have a hard time allowing people to like me and generally go out of my way to be an asshole to anyone who I could potentially like. I don't have any friends, Gai doesn't count, he's more like a spandex-clad travesty that won't leave me alone, and it isn't because I'm unlucky and socially inept. It's because I don't allow those sorts of connections to be forged. I had people I cared about at one point in my life. I had a team and a sensei and at one point I was like Sasuke, and when I finally came around to appreciating them, it was too late. They were gone."

Naruto thought he heard a foreboding sigh from his sensei.

"So, I told you a little something about me, why don't you tell me something about you?"

"What don't you know about me? From what I hear, you have me mapped out pretty well." He wasn't sure if it came out sounding snide, but the initial point was to evade having to tell anything Kakashi didn't know. Kakashi was perceptive and very observant and if he didn't know something, that either meant he was better off not knowing, or the person with the secret was better off if he didn't know. That or it was none of his business. Naruto decided whatever he may have been unknowingly keeping to himself fell into the category of 'things Kakashi doesn't need to know'.

"Why are you moving out? I never did hear the answer to that one. Of course, if you lie, I'll know and I won't leave you alone for the rest of the day, and that includes after bedtime." He could hear the smile in Kakashi's voice.

How to pull off a spectacular lie even the great Sharingan Kakashi couldn't see through? Naruto contemplated broodingly and sighed resignedly. What was the worst that would happen? What he currently had was: living all alone, being hated by nearly an entire village, living all alone, a sensei who would look right through him if he didn't raise his voice, teammates who would just blink if he died, and living all alone.

What he would have if he divulged his deepest secret was: living all alone, being hated by nearly an entire village, living all alone, a sensei who would look right through him if he didn't raise his voice, teammates who would just blink if he died, living all alone, being a depressed emo when nobody else was around, and a long, lonely future due to lack of good looks, luck, and destiny, and living the rest of his ninja life as a raging homosexual in the eyes of the person he cared for and liked the most.

Both of the choices were almost equally unsavory. _'Take a deep breath Naruto…'_

"You're a lazy, perverted, bastardly, asshole-ish, cruel, sarcastic, sadistic, vindictive, vengeful sonofabitch, a total dick, a complete jerk, and horribly aggravating." Naruto inhaled quietly.

Kakashi had slowly turned to face him as the list grew longer, and his already droopy lids drooped further. Did Naruto have to have so many of them? It was a near fatal blow to the hope settling in his chest, almost extinguishing it immediately. So he had his answer. It was plentiful, stabbing, hurtful and _true. _And he had tried so hard to be nice.

"But I really like you." He didn't say it in the same cheerful voice Kakashi had used, but in a sad, tired, regretful voice. Kakashi felt the hope inside of him flicker back to life. Naruto _really _liked him. One more well-aimed shot and he would have all the reason he needed.

"I know. I amuse you, it makes sense that you'd like me." The quote was handy.

Naruto shook his head woefully. "I mean I…you know I….I know you're…straight and a—

"And how do you know this?" Kakashi was interested now. Progress was going along much more his speed. At least he thought all of his approaches were rather telling.

Naruto seemed taken aback by the unvoiced possibility that Kakashi was not straight like he thought. He would find time later to think unpleasant thoughts of potential guys Kakashi might have liked. Right then he had self-esteem issues to battle.

"Even if you...maybe do like guys, I know I don't have any business liking you that way. I'm not anyone's idea of a good catch. I'm not good-looking, I'm not smart, and I'm not normal. I'm not worth looking at twice, except those wary looks people give me when I don't smile or those angry looks I get when I smile too much. I know. I'm not…I'm not Sasuke. I'm not Neji, there's nothing special about me. It took me far too many tries with Sakura to realize that. I know I'm impossible to like but I try hard to be what people want me to be and I can't. I tried to shrug it off when you made those jokes about finding someone. I couldn't even do that. It's so stupid, and I don't expect you or anyone else to look at it any other way. I like you Kakashi. I like you a lot. I know that when you finally find someone to be with and don't want some lovesick kid hanging around, it'll hurt me. I couldn't shake that feeling. Nobody has ever liked me enough to let me live with them, nobody has ever joked around with me or made me happy and mad at the same time like you do. It's a nice feeling and I didn't want to lose it."

Kakashi wanted to smack Naruto. Hard. Then he wanted to drag his foot all up and through the boy's ass until he coughed bloody self-worth. But he was an understanding sensei, who didn't want to scare the best thing he ever had off. He settled for a silly smile and a shake of his head.

"Where did you get all of _that _from?"

Naruto's heart creaked. Kakashi was going to heartlessly tear him to ribbons.

"First of all, I'm glad you're not like Neji, and I thank my stars everyday you're not like Sasuke. Secondly, you're intelligent in your own way. You're right, you're not normal, but you manage impress me all the time. As for being good-looking, I don't know what Sakura did to your self-esteem, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Personally I think you are the most the attractive out of the three of you and don't think I haven't noticed how much you've grown. And it's not impossible to like you; Hinata Hyuuga nearly kills herself trying to get you to notice her. She's loved you since you were in the Academy, only you never seemed to notice that. You do lack one thing: observational skill. You are special, very special, and it has nothing to do with the fox. I hadn't realized what a number people have done on you. They make you think you aren't worthy of anything, when you deserve everything. What I said in the kitchen was a joke to gauge your reaction. I didn't think it would end up like this. I'm sorry."

Did that mean that Kakashi cared about him at least? Liked him? Was he thinking too far ahead? Was he pushing his luck?

Naruto smiled sadly. Kakashi thought he was worthy, and good-looking and special, but he didn't like him. Not they way Naruto liked him. Naruto wouldn't be lonely, maybe, but Kakashi couldn't like him for everything he was. First off, he was _young. _More than ten years Kakashi's junior, he was practically jailbait. Kakashi would just look at it as a little boy crush that he hoped Naruto would get over soon. Naruto feared differently. He knew he liked Kakashi a great deal, but he was scared to think that he could even possibly love the Jounin. And Kakashi didn't love him. He couldn't.

"That's nice, sensei. Thanks," was all he could think to say. It wasn't his fault that he didn't sound so thankful.

"That's it?" Kakashi said. "I've been hitting on you for weeks, I told you that I liked you, I even made you smile a little, and all you have to say is, 'that's nice, sensei, thanks'?"

The look on Naruto's face was a look that would be forever etched into his head. The boy's eyes got big and watery, his mouth slightly open, and he turned to face him just like that, with that beautiful, relieved, happy, loving look on his face. Then he lunged at Kakashi.

Kakashi almost fell over but held on to the sobbing teen to him, rubbing the blonde spikes gently to sooth him. Naruto snuggled his head into Kakashi's chest, sniffling softly, so happy he could tell the world.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!"

"Haha, for what?"

Naruto pulled away with his hands around Kakashi's neck and whispered, "Everything."

Kakashi hadn't hugged a person since his father was alive and while the feeling wasn't new, he didn't think it would feel as good as it did with anyone other than Naruto. The boy's body was soft and warm and felt so right against his own. He could feel the tears against his neck and this made him smile wider.

"Wait," he pushed the blonde away and a confused look came across Naruto's face. Was he changing his mind?

"I…." Kakashi looked down past his face and to the ground and he could feel the familiar disappointment and hurt edging around his psyche.

"Is it alright if I kiss you, Naruto?"

The younger boy blinked for a while as he hadn't expected anything like that. Before he could give much thought to it, his head was already betraying him.

At first he assumed, for some reason, that the man would kiss him with the mask on. Kakashi slowly took it off. Naruto just stared. It wasn't a shocked stare, or a displeased stare, or even an admiring stare. It was just a long, long stare. Kakashi looked back at him, hoping that there wasn't something on his face or something.

"I'm not all that surprised by the way you look. Everything else about you was attractive, it makes sense your face would match….that an I can't think of a way to describe you so…"

"Hm." And whatever kind of kiss Naruto was expecting, he certainly didn't think it would start out as a _lick. _The tongue painted his bottom lip with saliva before Kakashi's mouth followed suit, a soft, but firm kiss that made him sigh and his arms tighten and twitch around the copy-nin's neck.

"Well," Naruto started after they pulled away, "this, I can get used to."

Besides, he had a feeling that Kakashi's kisses were one in a million.

END.

Yeah I know! No smex?! I didn't want to overdo it or tax myself out so I just left something cute at the end. So guys, I hope you enjoyed all of Situational Hazard and I hope you read other fics I have in the future. A super thanks to all who reviewed this fic and OMG! I'm so glad you all liked it and I hope in the future I can begin taking requests. However, there are certain things that would bore me to write. And I want to stick to short stories for a while unless I change my mind. For now folks, Ja.


	26. Chapter 26

GUYS, IT SEEMS AS IF NOBODY IS READING CHAPTER 24

GUYS, IT SEEMS AS IF NOBODY IS READING CHAPTER 24. I KNOW IT WAS AN AUTHOR'S NOTE, BUT SOME OF YOU ARE ONLY READING CH.25. THAT IS NOT THE OFFICIAL ENDING OF SITUATIONAL HAZARD. PLEASE READ CH.24 IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY AND YOU'LL FIND SOME SMEX AND ALL THE GOOD STUFF. THANKS AGAIN FOR READING SITUATIONAL HAZARD AND UH, SORRY FOR TRICKING YOU.


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